Yu-Gi-Oh! Into the Darkness
by GearfriedTheSynchro
Summary: It has been 3 years since the world said goodbye to Atem. But when a greater threat than ever faced before presents itself, can the three Chosen Duelists rise again?
1. The Darkness Rises

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! All that is owned by myself are any custom cards or characters used in the story.**

Darkness that was all that could be seen throughout this realm. However, if one entered, it would feel like the world's greatest evil had descended upon them, never leaving. Nonetheless, three voices could be heard amongst the silent that was the absolute black.

First came a voice with an impatient tone. The arrogance that resides within this person's soul coursed through their speech. "I am tired of waiting for my revenge. We are strong enough to conquer the Chosen Duelists now."

"Patience, my ally. The time will come. We are closer than ever to escaping this hell hole. We will have our revenge on the ones who wronged us. Just wait until the time is right." This voice was different than the other, and seemed to stand out from the idea of evil in the first place. The voice was more akin to one who could wait forever for a moment that would only last mere minutes.

"You two always bicker. Take it from me, this darkness has made us the greatest power to ever exist. The moment we break out of this blasted dimension, we will be able to strike our opponents down, but first, we gather soldiers. You both have previous armies, and I can use my powers to gather my own. Rest assured, my fellow evildoers, our desire will be fulfilled…" Whoever it was left the sentence to be filled, and it immediately was as the other two spoke in unison.

"The chosen duelists shall fall."

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Across dimensions, someone was completely unaware of the three entities, and was in their own predicament.

Joey Wheeler felt the heat of the crowd pour into him as he stared into his opponent's eyes. He has just taken a mean chomp from a tiny purple bird. (2/200/100)

(Joey: 500, Fry: 2000)

The MC's booming vocals could be heard across the stadium as he stood up, the excitement of the duel running through him.

"Here you have it, folks. This may be the downfall of Joey Wheeler, who is currently defending his Chicago Champion title from up and coming duelist, Billy Fry! I mean just look at this field! Billy has a full 6 card hand, but is fine with just his field! His Yata-Garusu has locked Joey out of drawing, and his White Night Fort prevents Joey from using his face-down card during Fry's turn! And to add on to that, he has both a Marshmallon (3/300/500) and a Spirit Reaper (3/300/200) ready to hold up a defense if needed. Could this be the end for the Duelist of Luck?"

Joey's opponent smirked at him. He was your typical young man. He was fairly tall, and quite skinny. His black hair reached the top of his back, and his grey eyes seemed to match the smug grin he had on his face. "Face it Wheeler, you're done! I end my turn!" The small bird teleported back to

Joey smiled at his opponent, chuckling at an arrogance he had seen many times before. "Didn't mommy ever tell you to play nice? Anyway, I activate my trap card Gamble! Since you have 6 cards to my zip in your hand, I call Heads or Tails. If I call it right, I draw until I hold 5 cards. If I'm wrong, well, we'll get to that. HEADS!"

As if it knew the suspense, the coin seemed to flip in slow motion. However, it landed nonetheless, and Joey was pleased with the results.

"Yes! Now he draws and the comeback is on." And just like that, Fry could feel the win begin to slip his grasp.

Joey slapped a card onto his duel disk. "I summon my Marauding Captain (3/1200/400) and will then use its effect to summon another one!"

As Joey spoke, the most familiar warrior in the game hit the field…twice. Fry took notice as one of the captains had a change in his sword, as it seemed to grow a little larger.

"For the record Fry, this is my Grade Sword, and it gives my monster a 300 attack boost. I then play my Quick Summon, which allows me to immediately Normal Summon by the way, to summon the mighty Gilford the Lightning! (8/2800/1400)"

A great being of a man descended onto the field, replacing the two soldiers. Fry wasn't worried, until his monsters exploded, that was.

Fry growled at the blonde across from him. "What the hell?! Gilford only destroys the field when you use 3 tributes. Last time I checked, you used two!"

As the dust cleared, Joey kept his trademark smile. "My Grade Sword lets my captain counts as two tributes, meaning three tributes were made. Now, I would be worried of that facedown, but since you used Fort, I can attack without worry. Gilford, Lightning Blade!"

The titan rushed over to Fry, slamming himself into the young man. While its power obscured the field for a moment, the results were clear.

(Joey: 500, Fry: 0)

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Meanwhile, while the blonde man collected his winnings, another legendary duelist was busy defending a title.

Seto Kaiba carried the air of power with him wherever he went, and this was no different. He smiled as he saw his opponent walk towards the centre of the arena. He heard his own enthusiastic MC, but he didn't care. He knew how the duel would end.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is that time again! Seto Kaiba will now attempt to defend his title of American Champion today! His opponent is one the dueling world knows all too well! Give a warm Duel Dome welcome for The Master of Insects, Weevil Underwood!"

A short man walked out. He had blue hair and large glasses. Across his green jacket was the figure of a beetle. He sneered at Kaiba, as he shoved his deck into his duel disk.

"I hope you're ready to lose your championship, Mr. Kaiba. I've been waiting so long to finally be able to put you in your place. And after you, I can go for Yugi and Joey as well!"

Kaiba laughed at his opponent, activating his duel disk. "If you couldn't even beat the mutt, what gives you the illusion that you stand any chance of beating me? This will not take long."

(Weevil: 8000) (Kaiba: 8000)

Weevil smirked as he drew his sixth card. "I shall start the road to my victory with a set monster. However, you'll see what it is as I play my Book of Taiyou, getting my great monster to the field! Arise, Parasite Paracide (2/500/300)!"

Kaiba frowned at the grotesque thing that appeared before him. He had a fleeting dah of it before it zoomed into his deck, and his disk automatically shuffled it. However, he was fine with his opening hand. He needed no other cards.

Weevil held a smug grin as he slid a card into his duel disk. "Next up, Dragon Boy, is my Jade Insect Whistle. This card forces you to put an Insect monster at the top of your deck. Now I wonder what your choice will be."

Kaiba growled, but complied as he placed the card at the top of his deck. Weevil apparently wasn't done yet.

"Then I set this monster with Double Summon and play my Insect Barrier! Now your insects can't attack, and with my Parasite coming back, that shall be a problem for you. I end my turn!"

The audience was stunned in the wake of Weevil's opening move. He had seemingly prepared for Kaiba's deck, and now had a lock ready. Kaiba however, laughed loudly.

"You think a simple lock is going to stop me? I've overcame duelists who make you look like gum on my shoe. And I'll prove that's exactly what you are! My draw!"

Kaiba drew his card, and the parasite was immediately summoned to the field. It was hard to find words to describe it, with how utterly disgusting it was. It slapped Kaiba with one of its tentacles, dropping his life points partly.

(Weevil: 8000, Kaiba: 7000)

Weevil smiled. "Now all your monsters will become Insects, and my barrier can block them."

Kaiba's grin was ever present. "C'mon now Weevil. You know this won't stop me. Watch as I activate my Future Fusion Spell card! Now I can send my 3 copies of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon (8/3000/2500) in order to get my ultimate fusion in two turns."

Weevil was silent for a few moments before bursting out into laughter. "That is your move? It matters not my opponent's monster, my lock shall stand!"

Kaiba said nothing as he slid a second card into his disk. "I activate my White Lightning Impact. Since all 3 of my Blue-Eyes are in my graveyard, I get to summon each at 1000 points apiece. Arise, my soul dragons!"

(Weevil: 8000, Kaiba: 4000)

The entire arena was left stunned as 3 monsters descended the field. They were simply majestic, to say the least. They carried an air of pureness to them, but the roar they gave maid the hair on people's back stand up. Kaiba meanwhile, simply smiled as his signature cards surrounded him.

Though his lock was still underway, Weevil began to feel fear rise. "Not enough Kaiba."

Seto chuckled and slid a third card into his disk. "I'm not done, because I now play the spell Delta Attacker! Since I control three Normal Monsters with the same name, they can all attack directly this turn!"

Weevil was scared for another moment before he remembered something. "Nice move Kaiba, but my lock is still active! What do you say to that?"

Kaiba smirked as he slid yet another card into his disk. "I say that I use Book of Moon, switching your parasite to face-down position and stopping my monsters from turning into Insects. Because of this, your Barrier has no effect on them! Now, attack my dragons, with Triple Burst Stream!"

The three dragons each roared before firing a bright beam of energy. The 3 blasts connected with Weevil simultaneously, sending him backwards and ending the duel.

(Weevil: 0, Kaiba: 4000)

Kaiba deactivated his duel disk. He looked to the cowering Insect user. "You're not fit to take my title away. Try the Little Leagues before challenging me again, Underwood!"

With that, he turned away and left the arena, ignoring the cheers that threatened to flood his ears.

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One person, in particular, had been under the duelling spectrum lately.

Yugi Muto was still the King of Games. However, it was now acknowledged that both Seto Kaiba and Joey Wheeler were able to force Yugi to a draw, which they had both done on multiple occasions.

However, Yugi was strong as ever, still retaining his title despite many challengers. His deck didn't change much, but no one understood why. Except a select few.

With this deck, and his "special friend", he had conquered many of his opponents. That was why he kept this deck, memories.

He thought back to the evils he had faced.

He thought of Pegasus. And how he went through everything to save his grandfather, and how he dueled Kaiba along the way, in one of the many duels they would have.

He thought of Battle City, and the hell that came with it. He thought of how Marik used his friends against him, and how he nearly lost his best friend.

He thought of Paradias, and how he saw many duelists, himself included, have their soul taken. He thought of how he became a chosen duelist, along with his greatest friend, and his greatest rival. He thought of Dartz, and how in the end, his other half freed him from the Orichalcos.

Finally, he thought of Bakura's other half, and how he had seen the Pharaoh's memories. He thought of how he learned his friend's name. Atem. He thought of how he set Atem free by beating him in a duel, and how he said goodbye to the one he shared so many adventures with.

He missed Atem dearly. But he understood what saying goodbye did. It allowed him to begin his own journey. And with it, he felt stronger than ever.

What he didn't know was that he was about to face the darkness at its strongest yet.

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Meanwhile, at the other end of Domino City, a strange portal opened. From it emerged 3 men.

The first was an Egyptian man, who basically fit the general description of insanity. He wore a long dark cape and held what some knew as the Millennium Rod in his hand. He twirled it about as he surveyed his surroundings. "Ah, it's good to be back, wouldn't you agree?"

One of his companions stepped forward next. The man would stand out in a crowd. Be it is long blue hair, his white/blue robes, or his multi-coloured eyes, he definitely wasn't wearing the typical fashion of the day. "Be it as you wish to show you're back, Marik, we must now retreat and begin rounding up our armies. Surprise is a great asset."

The third man snorted. "Honestly, we could take those three on our own. But if you so insist, then lead the way, Dartz." He, like Marik, also carried a Millennium Item, this one known as the Millennium Ring. He wore a striped t-shirt, with a black trench coat that had the collar pointed up. He didn't exactly have a name, but preffered to keep an old name, known as Bakura.

Without another word said, the trio moved on, with only one thought on their mind as they pictured a certain trio of Chosen Duelists.

Revenge.

**Woohoo, I did it *dances a little*. This was just a little idea that popped into my head. It may not go anywhere, but we shall see.**

**The only Custom Card used was White Lightning Impact. However, Quick Summon is a card appearing only in the anime.**

**Well…review, I guess?**


	2. First Moves Made

**The duel may be a little confusing, but please note. This is likely going to be the only chapter in which Marik and Dartz will each be referred to as a Yami version. You'll see why.**

Marik Ishtar was doing something he hadn't done in a while. He was staring at the dark half that had plagued most of his life. The being that got happier and happier the more pain he caused. The fear that was running through him was immense, though he was not the only one.

Ryo Bakura and Dartz were also both staring at what felt like ghosts. For Bakura, it was a side that he knew all too well. For Dartz, it was the evil that was purged from him by the Pharaoh, and the side that had been corrupted by the Orichalcos.

Yami Marik smiled at the fear he could sense from the three. Activating his Duel Disk, he began to speak, the Millennium Rod glowing as it did.

"What's the matter? Seeing a ghost? Do not worry, you will not be here for long, my weak side. It is time the world embraced the better Marik Ishtar."

Bakura was next to activate his disk, his ring slightly glowing as he did so. "You see, you three pose a problem to us. Your bodies are much more in touch with this world, and we require them so dearly. Allow Dartz, our resident soul stealer, to explain what is going to happen."

Dartz activated his Chaos Duel Disk, smiling as a stone attached to a necklace glowed upon him, flowing great power through him. "We will now have a three on three match. The winners will have permanent residence within your body, while the losers shall sacrifice themselves towards The Great Leviathan."

The trio of good trembled, but activated their own disks nonetheless.

(Ryo: 8000, Bakura: 8000, Marik: 8000, Yami Marik: 8000, Dartz: 8000, Yami Dartz: 8000)

Ryo drew first, starting the duel from Hell itself. "I will not let you pull us back into hell. And I will show you the power we have grown to! I summon The Agent of Mystery – Earth in defence mode. (2/1000/800)"

Appearing before the six duelists was a young woman. She had pale skin, and wore green and navy robes. She carried an essence of beauty to her. Almost immediately, she began chanting to herself as Ryo fetched a card from his deck, sliding another card into his disk after doing so.

"Earth allows me to fetch another Agent from my deck. And with my Quick Summon, they'll be arriving sooner than expected. Come on out, The Agent of Creation - Venus! (3/1600/0)"

Another female fairy appeared alongside the first one. She has gold skin, with her hair almost touching the floor. Her wings spread as she too began to chant.

"At the cost of 500 life points, I get to summon a Mystical Shine Ball, and I think I'll go for the full three! (2/500/500) x3"

(Ryo: 6500, Bakura: 8000, Marik: 8000, Yami Marik: 8000, Dartz: 8000, Yami Dartz: 8000)

Next to Ryo's two angels appeared three bright spheres. They threatened to blind everyone in the room. Ryo slid two cards into his disk, nodding at his counterpart that he ended his turn. The spirit drew his card, and was immediately hit by a large beam. Ryo was heard chuckling.

"That was my Solar Ray trap card, which inflicts 600 points of damage for every Fairy on my field. With a full field, you take a giant hit! Take this!"

Bakura merely smirked, as his light side had yet to notice the card glowing in his hand.

(Ryo: 6500, Bakura: 5000, Marik: 8000, Yami Marik: 8000, Dartz: 8000, Yami Dartz: 8000)

Bakura's smirk kept as he slapped the glowing disk onto his hand.

"You activated the effect of my Hell Mage (5/2000/0)! When I take effect damage, it gets Special Summoned to my field. Then, I gain the damage I just took, and you take an equal amount! Inch closer to your doom!"

A mage covered in bloody robes appeared and fired a blast at both counterparts of Ryo Bakura. Bakura smirked as he recovered his lost life points, but frowned upon further examination of the life point counters. "What's this?"

(Ryo: 6500, Bakura: 8000, Marik: 8000, Yami Marik: 8000, Dartz: 8000, Yami Dartz: 8000)

Ryo smiled as the dust cleared, showing he was unarmed. "That would be my Damage Polarizer, which negates an instance of effect damage and allows us all to draw a card." He then proceeded to draw his extra card, as did the other 5 duelists.

Bakura merely shrugged. "No matter, you will die in the end. I summon Hell Soldier, (4/1400/1200) which gives all my "Hell" monsters an extra 400 attack points! (4/1800/1200) (5/2400/0)"

A warrior, covered in blood like the other monster, appeared. Raising his sword, he empowered himself and his comrade. Bakura slid three face-down cards, ending his turn and giving Marik a chance to fight the darkness.

"I will purge my own darkness. I start with the spell card Solar Recharge! At the cost of a Lightsworn monster, I draw two cards, then send the top two cards of my deck to the graveyard!" Doing so, he smirked as he saw one of the cards milled. Motioning to his field, a large wolf-man hybrid appeared, sporting a large axe.

"This is my Wulf, Lightsworn Beast (4/2100/300), and when he's sent from my deck to the graveyard I get to summon him! I'll follow this up with my Jain, Lightsworn Paladin (4/1800/1200) in attack mode!"

Appearing next to the wolf-man was a white-haired man of quite a young age, he bore a white armour, with a shield and sword to match.

"I then set my own two face-downs and end my turn, causing my Jain to send the top two cards of my deck to the graveyard." Marik smiled as he saw the results of the milling. "Not only did I send another Wulf, but I also milled a Lightsworn Sabre, which I shall equip to my Jain to give him a 700 attack point boost."

A duplicate of the wolf-man appeared on Marik's field, along with two brown-backed cards. Meanwhile, Jain's sword began to glow, empowering him. (4/2500/1200).

Yami Marik merely shrugged and drew his next card. "It is time you felt true pain for banishing me, you fool! I activate Double Summon, then summon two copies of my Torture Demon – Blood Whip! (4/1500/1000) x2 in attack mode!"

Twins appeared on the field. They had a menacing grin on their face and snapped some blood off their black whips. Yami Marik smiled as they cracked their whips around both copies of Wulf.

"My monsters, when summoned, select a monster. While they remain face up on the field, the selected monster cannot attack, and during my End Phase the controller of said monster takes damage equal to the level of the monster x100. And what's more, I activate Torture Reinforcements, allowing me to summon my third Blood Whip since I control the other two. And he shall target Jain."

Marik barely had time to register what this meant as a third one appeared and cracked his whip, making Jain cry out in pain.

Yami Marik smirked as he slid yet another card into his duel disk. "Now I activate the Spell Pain Charger! I declare one card name. As long as my charger remains on the field, any damage from that card is doubled. I call Blood Whip! Finally, I set a card and end my turn! Feel true pain you weakling."

At the end of Yami Marik's turn, the whips tightened on their monster, and Marik screamed in pain as he felt his body become compressed, as if the whips were affecting him.

(Ryo: 6500, Bakura: 8000, Marik: 5600 Yami Marik: 8000, Dartz: 8000, Yami Dartz: 8000)

Dartz frowned at the pain of his companion, but made his move nonetheless. Drawing his card, he immediately went into action.

"I play the spell card Double Summon, allowing both my monsters to hit the field at once! Meet my Seraphim Saber and my Seraphim Blaster!"

Two angels appeared, their brightness threatening to expel the surrounding dark. However, they differed on their weapon. One had a long sword in its hand, which it emphasises by swinging in threateningly towards Dartz's evil counterpart. (4/1600/1500). The other fairy instead aimed a large gun at the dark half. (4/1800/1200). Immediately, they both gained a significant boost. (4/3700/1500) (4/3900/1200).

Dartz smiled as he also inserted a Field Spell into his disk. "To answer for my Seraphim boosts, both of my monsters gain 300 ATK for every Fairy on the field, so that includes Ryo's monsters also. And I'll then end my turn with The Sanctuary in The Sky Field Spell, which negates any battle damage involving Fairy-Type monsters!"

All of a sudden, the scenery changed. The field was now a heavenly setting, with the duelists now standing on air. But the most notable feature was the floating kingdom. Both Seraphim cards as well as all of Ryo's cards moved towards the Kingdom, with both Dartz and Ryo Grinning.

Dartz's dark side snorted in laughter. "Still pathetic, I see. My draw!" He drew his card with such force that the 3 lighter halves were all forced back slightly. "I must thank you, Ryo, for that Damage Polarizer. It makes crushing you all so much easier. I'll activate my Orichalcos Mirror Spell Card! Now at the cost of both Orichalcos Gigas (4/400/1500) and Orichalcos Kyutora (3/500/500) I can summon my almighty Orichalcos Mirror Calling (6/0/0)!"

A crystal, very similar to the one surrounding Dartz's neck, descended down upon the field. However, as the 3 light duelists tried to examine it closer, it glowed brightly, and spat out 4 monsters. All 4 were the same, silver knights, armed with the usual sword and shield.

Dartz smiled. "Upon being summoned my Mirror calls out four Mirror Knight Tokens. (1/0/0) x4. And just like that I have gathered an army. However, I think it's time my companions and I reclaim our bodies. I activate Switch of Fate!"

As Dartz spoke, a sudden power swept through the area, bringing the 3 Light duelists to their knees. They noticed, however, that their decks were glowing. Above everything, they heard Dartz clear as day.

"This powerful Spell card can only be activated during a turn in which I do not attack, and when the duel features 3 or more duelists. First, we all pick one card from our decks and place it on top."

All six duelists complied, and the 3 good halves felt reassurance at that moment.

'_My dark half always loved the brute power, I'll take Honest to overcome whatever he throws on my turn._' Dartz thought, placing the card on top of his deck, feeling hope for the first time since before he was possessed.

'_He's likely to clear my field. Judgment Dragon should be useful, since I know I can get enough Lightsworns in my grave._' pondered Marik, wishing to finally dispel his darkness.

'_Knowing him, he's going to have a powerhouse of trap cards waiting for me, so I'll use Master Hyperion and begin to clear his field_.' Ryo thought, using the experiences he had when joined with his other half.

The dark halves however, seemed not to care what cards they places. The evil grins never left their faces.

"And now for the other effect of my Spell. I begin a new turn, then the turns play in reverse order. So now it's me, my pitiful side, Marik, his lighter side, Bakura, and finally his pathetic host. But I assure you, it will not matter! I draw again!"

As Dartz drew, the three victims of darkness felt their hope begin to fade, especially when Dartz's features darkened.

"You know, while we were trapped in that accursed dimensions, we acquired a few upgrades. That being said, I got to hold on to a good friend. Say goodbye to your Sanctuary, and hello to my Seal of Orichalcos!"

The 3 light duelists gasped, as the card that plagued the world appeared. In moments, the sanctuary was gone, replaced by the familiar circle, and the accompanying symbols on the Dark Duelists' heads. Dartz, however, clearly was not done.

"My Orichalcos gives my monsters an extra 500 ATK, but they aren't sticking around. As for the upgrades, allow me to show you power thought long gone! At the cost of three of my tokens, I can call forth the mighty Egyptian God, Obelisk the Tormentor! (10/4000 + 500 =4500/4000)"

Before anyone could even comprehend Dartz's words, three of the knights vanished, with a giant vortex appearing where they once stood. From it emerged a behemoth that seemed to take up the entire space. It was entirely blue, with arms that made the Seraphim monsters, no matter how powerful they were, seem pathetic by comparison. It was fear all wrapped up in a single monster.

Dartz smiled as his Obelisk wrapped its fists around both the stone and the knight. "And now my monster's effect. At the cost of two of my monsters, I can obliterate away all three of your fields, and deal 4000 points of damage. However, my Damage Focus spell shall change things. When an effect activates that would damage multiple players, I can instead focus that Damage on a single player, meaning my half will now take 12000 points of damage. The drawback is having to take the same amount of damage during my next Standby Phase, but I doubt we'll get that far. Obelisk, reclaim my body for me."

No sooner were the words spoken that Obelisk made his move. His fists came downwards, covering the entire playing field in smoke. When it cleared, the monsters of the light duelists, as well as Dartz himself, were gone. Meanwhile, the darker Dartz looked stronger than ever.

(Ryo: 6500, Bakura: 8000, Marik: 5600 Yami Marik: 8000, Dartz: 0000, Yami Dartz: 8000)

Dartz smiled. "Now I feel much better. I end my turn, and since my weak side can't take his turn anymore, it goes to Marik. Your turn, my friend."

Marik smirked, snatching the top card off his deck. "With pleasure, and thank you for allowing me access to my power sooner than ever." Drawing, he smirked as he examined his four card hand. "I sacrifice all 3 of my Blood Whips in order to bring out the almighty Winged Dragon of Ra! (10/?/?)

The whip bearing monsters disappeared, only to be replaced by a giant yellow sphere. Marik, however, seemed undisturbed by this.

"Ah, of course, my monster decided to test my worthiness again, no matter, I remember the old chant." He laughed at the look of terror on his lighter side's face before spreading his arms wide.

**"Great beast of the sky, please hear my cry. Transform thyself from orb of light and bring me victory in this fight. Envelop the desert with your glow and cast your rage upon my foe. Unlock your powers from deep within so that together we may win. Appear in this Shadow Game as I call out your name, Winged Dragon of Ra!"**

At first, the sphere showed signs of cracking, then all of a sudden a bright light filled the room. When the light subsided, a new monster was on the field. Its colour matched the sphere. It stood as tall as Obelisk, and its wings took up most of its appearance. Its claws looked ready to cut through anything, and it seemed it would be cutting through Marik. His dark half smiled as he slid two cards in to his duel disk. (10/4500 + 500 = 5000/3000)

"I activate Sacrificial Benefit and Chain my Mystic Wok! Sacrificial Benefit activates when I make a Tribute Summon, and it allows me to gain Life Points equal to the sum ATK of the monsters tribute. And since Mystic Wok allows me to sacrifice Ra to gain another 4500, which it got from having the ATK of the monsters used to summon him, I now gain 9000 points!"

(Ryo: 6500, Bakura: 8000, Marik: 5600 Yami Marik: 17000, Dartz: 0000, Yami Dartz: 8000)

Both Marik and Ryo gasped as the dark Marik grew in strength, letting out a great big laugh as he did. Finally, he slid the final card into his duel disk.

"And now I activate my Monster Reborn to bring back Ra, and use Ra's effect to transfer all but a single point towards him. And since I have no other cards, I'll just let him attack with Blaze Cannon!"

All of a sudden, Ra reappeared, then just as sudden, Marik began to merge with his monster, until only his eye remained where he originally stood. (10/16999 + 500 = 17499/16999). Just as sudden, it opened its mouth and blasted Marik down. By the time Ryo could see anything, he was all alone. As the now true Marik ended his turn, his God disappeared, though Ryo knew he was far from safe.

(Ryo: 6500, Bakura: 8000, Marik: 0000 Yami Marik: 1, Dartz: 0000, Yami Dartz: 8000)

Bakura laughed as he drew, now having three cards in his hand, though his three set cards still posed a threat. He pushed a button on his duel disk, revealing one of them.

"I activate the Trap card Hell's Duplicate. I select a LV 4 or lower Hell monster and get to summon this card as a monster with the exact same stats. Duplicate, take the form of my Hell Soldier."

Ryo watched as a second word-wielding demon appeared, and he knew what would come next. (4/1800/1200)

Bakura smiled as he slid one of his cards onto his duel disk, his monsters disappearing as he did. "Now, at the cost of three monsters, I bring out the final Egyptian God, Slifer the Sky Dragon! (10/X000/X000)"

Appearing now was a red beast. It seemed as if its body went for miles, and it curled itself around its master. It has two mouths, with both baring sharp fangs looking ready to tear Ryo apart.

Bakura smirked as another trap was revealed. "Slifer gains 1000 ATK and DEF points for each card in my hand, so normally he would have 2000. But I reveal my Trap card Hell's Boost, allowing me to banish a Hell monster to draw cards equal to the level. So say goodbye to my mage and hello to 5000 extra attack points."

Ryo tried to keep his fear away, but it was hard to do when watching the behemoth grow in power. (10/7000 + 500 = 7500/7000)

"Now, my Slifer. Reclaim what is rightfully mine, with Thunder Force!"

As the attack surged towards Ryo though, a single card in his hand began to glow.

"At this moment, I reveal the effect of The Agent of Defence – Neptune! When I am attacked directly, I can summon him in defence mode, while also stopping him from being destroyed in battle!"

Appearing before Ryo was a monster that would have dwarfed his other monsters. Its size was impressive, and it was clear at its stats why it was like this (5/0/3000). However, it seemed to shrink in size as Slifer opened his second mouth and blasted it. (5/0/1000)

Bakura guffawed at the monster. "In case you forgot, my monster can wipe out 2000 of your monster's defence. Luckily, your monster survives, but I can hardly say the same about you! I reveal my trap card Meteorain, which allows my Slifer to deal Piercing damage, so say good night my friend."

Ryo barely had a moment to think before the blast enveloped him. While his monster was able to withstand the attack, the same could hardly be said for Ryo, as he was gone by the time his field was visible again.

(Ryo: 0000, Bakura: 8000, Marik: 0000 Yami Marik: 1, Dartz: 0000, Yami Dartz: 8000)

Bakura let out a laugh before turning to his companions. "Now, let's get back to business."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Joey smiled as he relaxed in his room. It was good that he was no longer in anyone's shadow. He had become his own duelist. Also, while he and Kaiba still weren't best friends, Kaiba now treated him as he would Yugi; like a true duelist.

His thoughts however, were broken as a searing pain went through his head, and a voice came through that sent a chill down his spine.

"Hello duelists," spoke the voice of the long gone Marik Ishtar. "It's so nice to hear from you all again. Now ley my companions and I explain to you what's going to happen."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Meanwhile, Seto Kaiba was now on his knees, wracked with pain, listening to the sounds of people he thought he could forget.

"You see, the three of us all have debts we feel the need to finish." Came the voice of Dartz next. "Kaiba, I'm rather a fan of your company, and I am also prepared to fully crush you, since you no longer have the Pharaoh's help."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Yugi wasn't having a pleasant time either, to say the least.

"By destroying you, Yugi, I can find my way back to the Pharaoh." Bakura was still easy to recognise. I am sure he will want to avenge his other half, and by defeating him, Zorc can rise again. And don't think we'll fall like last time."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Joey, hearing both Bakura and Dartz, knew what was left of him.

"As for you, Mr. Wheeler. I always find myself annoyed by our duel, it didn't feel like a victory. I intend to beat you now. You seem the Egyptian Gods are now in our possession. Also, we managed to find many banished souls in our time, as well as restore the darkness in many of our previous allies. That being said, I think it's time to explain. In 3 days, at noon, you will all have a challenge to face. Kaiba and Joey, you can both find your siblings being held where Yugi and Joey dueed each other, under my weaker half's possession. Meanwhile, Yugi, go to where you obtained Slifer if you ever want to see your grandfather again. It's time to duel, old friends. We hope to see your souls soon enough."

And with that, the voices were gone. Joey stood up on shaky legs and began his march down to hit hotel lobby. It was time to head back to Domino City.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Meanwhile, Seto stood up. He hadn't been back in his hotel room for long, and already he had to leave. There was no question about it though, Mokuba came first in everything. He swore to himself that this was the last time the three stooges would make trouble. This time, he would personally crush them.

He opened his phone and quickly dialled a number. The moment he heard the other person answer he spoke. "Roland, get me back to Domino City as soon as possible, I have a score to settle."

He hung up before his employee could respond, and made his move. He was getting his brother back.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Meanwhile, Yugi was staring at his deck. If they were truly back, he needed to be the best he could be. His cards had helped him fight many enemies, but could it do it this time. He was up against the God cards. He may have beat them, but Dartz, Bakura, and Marik were likely ready to fully exploit the power they possessed. And to top it all off, they held Grandpa as a hostage.

And unlike before, Yugi did not have Atem to help him out. This battle was his to fight alone.

Mustering up all he had, Yugi began to assemble his deck. It was no longer a question of winning and losing. It was a question of survival.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Joey was already at the hotel lobby, checking out. He was lucky enough to have his own private jet after being a professional duelist for long enough, and he already had it ready to go. As he left, he heard the manager call out to him. "Mr. Wheeler, if you don't mind my asking, where are you going?"

And despite it all, Joey could not help but grin.

"Home."


	3. The First Hurdle

**I am happy that I managed to get this chapter out within good time. Enjoy the read, guys!**

**Chapter 3- The First Hurdle**

Domino City Pier. Quite a beautiful place, to be honest. It's peaceful, and for a while you can forget everything in the world.

How odd that it was abandoned then.

Joey and Kaiba surveyed the area. They had arrived here at the same time, both an hour before than was necessary. Needless to say, they weren't exactly happy to be here. Their siblings, the one thing they cared about above all else, were in danger, and that was something they planned to change.

Joey stood in silence, looking for anything that made him suspicious. He looked completely the same from when he had dueled in Battle City. Due to the money he made as a Pro, he had been able to start affording better clothes. However, he still chose to give the money to his sister, who still had eye problems every once in a while.

"Dammit, where the hell are they?" growled out Kaiba. He had donned his usual look, with the white sleeveless KaibaCorp coat. The collar was raised and studded. The sleeves were from his black shirt. As usual, he wore the duel disk he himself created.

Joey was about to respond before a low chuckle was heard.

"Why, we seem to be right here, Mr. Kaiba."

Hearing the noise, the two duelists turned around, only to be greeted by a pair who were strangers to Joey, but were extremely familiar to Kaiba.

One of the men was tall and skinny, the other short and plump. One half of the short man's face, his right side, was covered by a smiling mask. For the tall man, his mask was the exact opposite. Black, frowning, and on the left side of his face.

Kaiba almost burst out laughing at the two. "Really? Those three probably have all the henchmen in the world, and they send good old Lumis and Umbra? I'm sorry, but I appear to remember destroying you both in a duel."

The tall one, Umbra, shook his head in disappointment. "Still as arrogant as ever, Kaiba. Perhaps this will change your mind." With that being said, he threw a card each to the blonde duelist and the CEO.

A pair of gasps came as their eyes lay upon the cards. For Joey, he saw Serenity Wheeler on the card, the very distinctive Seal of Orichalcos looming behind her. Kaiba's card was similar, except his held the face of Mokuba Kaiba. Kaiba's anger grew as he saw the fear in Mokuba's eyes. However, Joey was already moving towards the Rare Hunters. Lumis, however, pressed a button on a switch in his hand, causing Joey and Kaiba to turn around in curiosity.

It was exactly where Yugi and Joey dueled. However, at one side, were Mokuba and Serenity's soulless bodies. Both were encased in glass boxes that were dangling over water, threatening to drop. The boxes both had a medium-sized hole on top, and were attached to long chains, both of which had a monitor with the number 8000 at the very top. Joey knew now what was going to happen.

"Lemme guess, we duel you two. The lower our life points go, the more the boxes lower. When we hit 0, they go in the water, and our siblings drown."

Umbra smiled. "It looks like Wheeler is smarter than we give him credit for, because he's right. If you beat us, we both have a key each to free your siblings. However, with the power we received from our masters, you two stand no chance. Now then, kindly walk over and connect the cord attached to the monitor to your duel disk." He kept his grin and he and Lumis moved opposite the glass boxes, both activating their duel disks.

Kaiba gave a nod to Joey who returned it. "You just made the 2nd and 3rd best duelists in the world extremely angry. I don't think you quite understand how much we will crush you." He walked over, activating his own duel disk.

Lumis chuckled. "I would love to see that happen, but –" Before he could say anything else, Joey interrupted him, moving next to Kaiba and activating his own disk.

"Don't worry, you will indeed feel us crushing you. Then when we're done, I'll break all the bones you have." With that said, all 4 duelists yelled the most common word in the game.

"DUEL!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Yugi found his opponent waiting for him. He recognised him, but barely. To be honest, the short stature and the pale skin was unique in his memories. He was the opponent Joey had dueled when he was on his own. Yugi remembered the name vaguely as Bonz. But he hadn't seen the man since then, and it was a wonder how he had come into contact with Bakura, Marik, and Dartz. Growling, he decided to find out. "Are you the one I'm supposed to duel? How do you even know them?"

At first, all he got was a sickly grin. He eventually heard Bonz respond. "Where is your patience, little Yugi? To answer your questions, I am indeed your opponent. As for how I know them, that would be a longer story. Bakura and I once dueled. I was sorely defeated, and banished to Hell. Luckily, however, I was revived in order to deal some pain to a low life. They explained to me how it was all a spirit doing your duels for you, and that means it will be easy to crush you. Oh, and your grandfather's body is with my masters now, I just needed a way to get you here."

Yugi gasped. He had lost his grandfather. Hatred rose in him like never before and he activated his duel disk, vengeance now the only thing on his mind. "You seem to have forgotten something, Bonz. 3 years without the spirit and I still retain my title. You will pay for my grandfather. Bakura sent you to Hell? Then it only seems fair to send you straight back."

Bonz smirked and activated his own duel disk, as the yells of both players filled the sky.

"LET'S DUEL!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

(Lumis: 8000, Kaiba: 8000, Umbra: 8000, Joey: 8000)

"I'll start this duel, gentleman." Lumis said, smirking as he did so. Smiling at his hand, he made the most shocking statement. "I end my turn."

Joey and Kaiba were, needless to say, shocked by the declaration. Kaiba recovered, and made his own move.

"If, that's all you're going to do, then this duel is going to be a short one. I summon, in attack mode, my Kaibaman! (3/200/700)"

Appearing before the CEO was a monster not so different from him. The coat and general appearance was the same. However, Kaibaman's hair was much longer, and he had a helmet designed like the head of a certain CEO's favourite monster.

Joey was more surprised than anything. "Ummm, Kaiba? Did you just summon yourself?"

Kaiba smirked. "Any resemblance between this monster and I are merely coincidental. However, I now use my monster's effect. By sacrificing my Kaibaman, I can bring out my ace, so say hello to Blue-Eyes White Dragon! (8/3000/2500)"

As the man disappeared, he was replaced by a dragon known the world over. It didn't really need a description, as its name said it all. However, nothing could have prepared Lumis and Umbra for the powerful roar it gave off, as it hovered above Kaiba.

"Since my monster seems to have impressed everyone with its entrance, I'll just throw two cards face-down to end my turn." Two brown-backed cards appeared behind Kaiba as his powerful opening move came to an end. Umbra growled as he drew and slapped a card down on his disk.

"Since you control a monster and I do not, I get to Special Summon my Cyber Dragon! (5/2100/1600) to the field in attack mode!"

A metallic monster appeared in front of Umbra. It coiled itself around Umbra, defending its master from harm.

"And to follow up, I'll use the Spell Evolution Burst. Since I control a Cyber Dragon, by sacrificing his attack, I can say goodbye to your Blue-Eyes." However, as the metallic dragon launched a blast at the White Dragon, it became encased in armour. "What is the meaning of this?"

Kaiba smirked at the Cyber Duelist. "My White Armour allows me to equip it to a Blue-Eyes monster and protect it from card effects. Care to try again?"

Umbra growled, but ended his turn there. Smiling, Joey drew, and slapped his own monster down onto his disk.

The monster was tiny, but it was clear to anyone that it resembled the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Joey's signature monster.

"This is my Red-Eyes Black Chick (1/800/500). He won't be staying for long though, because by sending him to the graveyard I get to pull out my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

Suddenly, the tiny dragon burst into flames. From the flames, however, emerged an adult version of the black dragon. Its contrast with the Blue-Eyes was clear, as was its power. It roared in protection of its master, who then slid another card into his duel disk.

"Up next is the spell Inferno Fire Blast, which allows me to inflict damage equal to the attack of my Red-Eyes. Since Kaiba has Umbra handled, I'll send 2400 points directly to Lumis!"

The duelist in question barely had a moment to understand what was going on before he was struck by the dragon's fireball, knocking him down.

(Lumis: 5600, Kaiba: 8000, Umbra: 8000, Joey: 8000)

Smirking, Joey ended his turn as three brown-backed cards appeared behind his dragon. "I'll end my turn with these.

Lumis drew angrily. "Very clumsy Joseph, for I activate the Spell 1st Movement Solo. Since you control a monster while I do not, I'm allowed to bring out a Melodious monster. Say hello to my Serenade, the Melodious Diva! (4/400/1900)"

What appeared was a purple female. She did a little dance before she disappeared. Kaiba and Joey were about to question it before Lumis answered their wonders.

"My monster can be used as 2 tributes for a Melodious monster, so give a warm welcome to my Mozarta, the Melodious Maestra! (8/2600/2000)"

Appearing now was another female. It was hard to make out her details though, as her red dress dwarfed her. Next to her appeared a third monster. Lumis held his smirk. "And my Maestra can Special Summon a Melodious monster from my hand, like my Tam-Tam (4/1000/2000). And rather than focus on her, I'll get her effect. When she gets Special Summoned while I control another Melodious monster, I can fetch Polymerizationn, which I will use to fuse my two monsters into Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir! (6/1000/2000)"

Both the large fairy and the other monster disappeared into a vortex, and from it emerged a new monster. She was tiny in comparison to her components, and was light in colour and in clothing. Kaiba however, smiled at her appearance.

"It took you 5 cards overall to bring out that thing, I'm hardly worried."

Lumis shook his head, smiling the whole time.

"You have no idea, Seto, the kind of power I have achieved. I attack Red-Eyes!"

Both the Red-Eyes user and the Blue-Eyes users widened their eyes at this nonsensical move. However, Red-Eyes fell into the blast, with Joey being hit by his monster!

(Lumis: 5600, Kaiba: 8000, Umbra: 8000, Joey: 6600)

Lumis laughed out loud. "She can't be destroyed in battle, and I take no damage! Also, when my monster battles a Special Summoned Monster, all damage goes to you, and the monster gets destroyed! Now who's laugh-" However, he was stopped in his tracks by Joey's cards being revealed.

"Sorry, Lumis, but I activate my triple threat! Red-Eyes Spirit allows me to bring back my monster as good as ever, while my Red-Eyes Burn deals damage to both of us equal to its attack, but my Barrel Behind the Door means you take my damage, so with 4800 being dealt to you now Kaiba will finish you next turn!"

As Joey spoke, Red-Eyes rose again, two blasts emanated from hit. One hit Lumis head on, while the other went for Joey. However, a gun absorbed the blast and fired it at Lumis, knocking him down onto his back.

(Lumis: 800, Kaiba: 8000, Umbra: 8000, Joey: 6600)

Growling, Lumis inserted another card into his deck. "I use Energy Drain to draw a card and make your monster's attack become 0. Say goodbye to the great power of the Blue-Eyes, Kaiba!"

Kaiba smiled even as his dragon weakened (8/3000 – 3000 = 0/2500). "I use my face-down Card of Last Will. Since my monster had its attack reduced to zero, I get to draw until I hold five cards. Got anything else for Wheeler and me to counter?"

Lumis growled, but ended his turn anyway.

Kaiba smiled as he drew. "I activate the spell Cleansing Water, which does any attack changes involving my monster, and I will also use my Forbidden Chalice to negate your Choir's effect by giving it 400 extra attack points!"

All of a sudden, the dragon was powerful again (8/0 + 3000 = 3000/2500), while the Fairy seems to increase in force, but lost its marvellous powers (6/1000 + 400 = 1400/2000).

Kaiba let out a yell as his dragon prepared its blast. "Pathetic, being taken out even before you could get out your Seal. Reclaiming our siblings is going to be a breeze at this rate. Blue-Eyes, attack and wipe out this sorry excuse for a duelist with Burst Stream of Destruction!"

The dragon let out its signature blast, and it sped towards Lumis' monster, threatening to make the duel extremely difficult for Umbra.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

(Bonz: 8000, Yugi: 8000)

Bonz smirked. "I shall go first. I set a monster and then set a card to end my turn." Two brown-backed cards; one horizontal and one vertical, appeared before the revived duelist.

Yugi frowned as he drew his card. 'I don't like the way he smirked when he made such a small move. That has to be a trap, but luckily, I can get rid of it.'

"I activate my spell card Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your set card!" A typhoon swept away the set card, though Bonz smirked.

"Thanks Yugi, because you just destroyed my Ojamagic, which adds Ojamas Yellow, Black, and Green to my hand." Smiling, he took the three cards from his hand. Yugi, on the other hand, was perplexed.

_'Ojamas? Why would one of these guys be using an Ojama deck? Last time I checked, they weren't the best archetype in the world. Whatever, let's just focus'_ Moving on, he slapped a monster down onto his duel disk. "I summon Queen's Knight, in attack mode! (4/1500/1600)"

A red warrior appeared before the King of Games. Drawing her sword, her look was passive. At Yugi's command, she cut down the set monster, revealing a grotesque blue monster. Bonz could be heard laughing as his monster was destroyed.

"That was my Ojama Blue, and upon his destruction I'm allowed to take two Ojama cards to my hand. I pick Ojama Red and Ojama Country!" As he took the cards from his deck, Yugi was frowning.

_'There's more Ojama Cards than the ones that focus on Yellow, Black, and Green? I need to watch out.'_ He decided to hold back his strategy, and nodded to Bonz that he had ended his turn.

Bonz smiled as he drew. "Poor little Yugi, you clearly have no clue what you are doing. It seems all your power came from Atem. That was his name, right?"

When all he got was a growl in response, Bonz shrugged. "Fine then, don't talk, it makes no different to me. Back to the duel, I activate the Field Spell Ojama Country!"

All of a sudden, the terrain had changed. Yugi and Bonz were now in a place with oddly shapes houses, with doors too small for any normal sized human being to be in. Bonz smiled as he discarded a card, and the blue grotesque monster Yugi had destroyed appeared before him (2/1000/0). At the same time, a change was noticeable in Queen's Knight (4/1600/1500).

Bonz spoke before Yugi could even utter a protest. "My Ojama Country allows me to discard an Ojama Card, like my Ojamarking in order to bring out an Ojama monster from my graveyard. Also, as long as I control an Ojama monster on my field, the original ATK and DEF are swapped. I'm not done yet, as I now summon my Ojama Red (2/1000/0) to the field in attack mode!"

Another grotesque monster appeared, this time red. However, it let out a rather pathetic cry, that made some of the cards in Bonz's hand glow. Smirking, he slapped all 3 down onto the field.

"And when Red is summoned, I get to summon out up to 4 Ojama monsters in my hand. So say hello to Yellow, Black, and Green!" As he spoke, the monsters in question appeared alongside their brothers. (2/0/1000) x3

Bonz clearly was not done. "Now I activate the Spell Card Ojama Delta Hurricane! Since I control The original 3 Ojamas, I can obliterate your entire field. And to top it off, I'll have all 5 monsters attack you directly."

Ojamas Yellow, Black and Green all joined together. Moments later, they span into a hurricane which obliterated the Queen's Knight. From the hurricane emerged all 5 Ojamas, all slamming into Yugi. As they returned to Yugi's field, he was on his knees.

(Bonz: 8000, Yugi: 3000)

Bonz laughed at his opponent's struggles. "I think that's enough for now. I end my turn. Try not to die so soon Yugi."

Yugi pulled himself back up, taking a long deep breath. _'If something like that happens again, I'm done! I need a miracle.'_ Bracing himself, he drew his next card, putting his hand at a modest five. "I play Pot of Greed to draw two more cards." Smiling as his drawn cards, he knew just what to do. "Since I drew my Watapon (1/200/300), I can Special Summon it to my field." A tiny cotton ball appeared before Yugi, and disappeared after mere moments. "I use my Magical Academy, which allows me to discard 2 cards in order to Normal Summon my Dark Magician Girl with an extra 2 Levels and a 500 ATK boost. (8/2200/2000)"

All of a sudden the ball of fluff disappeared, replaced by arguably the game's most known female monster. She smiled back at Yugi, who kept his grin as he inserted the last card into his disk.

"I activate Diffusion-Wave Motion, which allows me to pay 1000 Life Points in order for my Dark Magician Girl to attack every single one of those Ojamas."

(Bonz: 8000, Yugi: 2000)

"Dark Magician Girl, attack with Black Burning!"

Dark Magician Girl's blast originally went towards Yellow, but soon enough it had amplified and oblitareated all of Bonz's monsters.

(Bonz: 2000, Yugi: 2000)

Bonz growled and snapped the next card off his deck. "Since you have no more cards to play, it's my turn. Also, I added Ojamandala and another Hurricane to my hand. I activate the Ojamandala card straight away, which allows me to bring back Yellow, Black, and Green to the field once more."

(Bonz: 1000, Yugi: 2000)

The three repulsive monsters that symbolised the Ojamas arose to the field. As Bonz activates his hurricane, they came together to obliterate the Dark Magician Girl. However, before they could strike Yugi, they stopped in their tracks. "What the hell did you three stop for? I said attack!" It was clear from his tone that Bonz was not happy. Yugi, however, definitely was.

"There's no point in trying, Bonz. They can't attack anymore because I used my Electromagnetic Turtle (4/0/1800), which I discarded via Magical Academy. And it allows me to end your Battle Phase by banishing it from my graveyard. Any more moves?"

Bonz frowned. "I can't risk you drawing a powerful enough card, so I use my Contingency Fee. You draw until you hold 6 cards, but I gain 1000 points for each card drawn. Since your hand's empty, I receive the full boost. And I shall end my turn with a face-down." He smirked as Yugi drew, his energy replenishing.

(Bonz: 7000, Yugi: 2000)

Yugi smiled as he drew. "That was a big mistake Bonz, and you shall see why. First I-"

"You do nothing," Bonz interrupted. "For I use my Ojama Trio trap card to summon 3 Ojama Tokens to your side of the field. They can't be tributed for a Tribute Summon, and you lose 300 points when one is destroyed."

Duplicates of Yellow, Green and Black appeared in front of Yugi, who shrugged as he inserted a different card into his disk. "I usually use this card with Kuriboh and Multiply, but this works fine. I use Token Thanksgiving, now I destroy all Tokens, and gain 800 LP for every monster destroyed.

The duplicates exploded, giving Yugi some much needed strength.

(Bonz: 7000, Yugi: 4400)

At the same time, however, the remains of the tokens struck Yugi, lowering his points slightly.

(Bonz: 7000, Yugi: 3500)

Yugi smiled. "Back to business then. I use Monster Reborn to bring back Queen's Knight, in attack mode (4/1600/1500).

The familiar warrior was back, and with a vengeance.

Bonz shrugged. "I killed it once, I can kill it again."

Yugi slapped another card down. "She isn't alone. I summon King's Knight (4/1400/1600)!"

An orange covered knight appeared. He looked much older than his female counterpart, and seemed much more intimidating.

"And since I had Queen's Knight on the field when King hit the field, I get to summon Jack's Knight (5/1000/1900) from my deck!"

Joining the two knights was a much younger knight clad in blue. Drawing his sword, he stared down the Ojama monsters alongside his comrades. However, the three disappeared into a vortex.

Yugi let out a small laugh as he revealed the spell card he had played. "My spell card Polymerization allows me to fuse my monsters into the almighty Arkana Knight Joker (9/2500/3800)! And I can now send him to beat down your Ojama Yellow!"

From the vortex emerged a fearsome knight. His armour seemed to be mostly black and white, so his purple hair stood out. His sword was massive, and his shield was strapped to his arm. Immediately, he drove his sword through Ojama Yellow, wiping the monster out.

(Bonz: 5500, Yugi: 3500)

Bonz frowned at the loss of his monster, but smiled nonetheless. "Remember the Ojamarking I discarded a while ago? When a monster of mine is destroyed by battle, I can banish this card from my graveyard in order to summon an Ojama monster from my grave. So Yellow (2/1000/0) comes right on back!" As he spoke, his words shone true, with the ugly yellow beast appearing alongside his brothers.

Yugi shrugged. "No matter, I can kill it again. I end my turn with two face-down cards." Two brown-backed cards appeared behind the large knight.

Bonz growled in frustration as he drew, though his mood changed as he saw the card he had drew. However, he slid a different card into his duel disk. "I'm going to give you a little déjà vu with my own Polymerization! I fuse Yellow, Black, and Green in order to bring out Ojama King (6/3000/0)!"

The three monsters disappeared, and were replaced by what was perhaps one of the ugliest monsters Yugi had ever laid eyes upon.

Its size was immeasurable, though it would most definitely fail to fit in any of the houses of Ojama Country. It was pale, though wore tiny red briefs. Its green cape swayed behind its figure, and at the top of its head lay a tiny crown and what Yugi thought may be underwear.

"My Ojama King blocks out 3 of your Monster Card Zones when he's summoned, and they're blocked out for as long as he stays on the field. Now, my King, kill his Joker!" However, as his monster charged, the country was swept into the sky, and both monsters changed in power (6/0/3000) (9/3800/2500). "What is the meaning of this?"

Yugi found it impossible to even hide his grin. "I used my Dust Tornado trap card in order to destroy your Country, meaning our monsters went back to normal. Joker, counterattack with Majestic Slash!"

The knight now dwarfed the king and swept it away without any trouble.

(Bonz: 1700, Yugi: 3500)

Yugi felt relief at finally being in the lead. "Now then, Bonz. Have you got anything else for me, or can I end this?"

If Bonz was nervous, he failed to show it. "I end my turn."

Yugi drew with ferocity. "Alright then, consider yourself lucky that you didn't use The Seal. Now you can give a message to your Masters; I'm going to come after them for hurting the people I love. Arkana Knight Joker, end this!"

And as the Knight charged towards the stoic duelist, threatening to tear him apart, he still didn't show any bit of fear.


	4. Old Powers Revived

**Chapter 4 – Old Powers Revived**

Lumis smiled just before the blast hit his monster. "Sorry Kaiba, but I have Honest, which can be discarded in order to have my Choir gain your dragon's attack points (6/1400 + 3000 = 4400/2000). Bloom Diva, counter with Melody Break!"

The musical monster let out a sonic boom, destroying the CEO's favourite card.

(Lumis: 800, Kaiba: 6600, Umbra: 8000, Joey: 6600)

Kaiba frowned at the loss of his monster. "I set a monster and two face-down cards. Then I activate Card of Sanctity, which allows all of us to draw until we hold 6 cards. So Wheeler and I both draw 6 cards, while Umbra draws 2 and you, Lumis, draw three cards. I'd say it's worth it. I end here." Three brown-backed cards appeared to defend the Blue-Eyes user, as everyone replenished their hand.

Umbra smiled as he drew. "Do you remember when you struck me with Obelisk, Seto? You're going to pay for that."

Kaiba snorted in laughter. "I'm sure you intend to, but in the end you'll be the one defeated."

Umbra shrugged. "Arrogance always was a trait of yours. I play Polymerization, which allows me to fuse the Cyber Dragon on the field with the Cyber Dragon in my hand in order to summon Cyber Twin Dragon (8/2800/2100)!

A mechanic monster identical to the one on the field showed up, before they both combined. The end result was definitely intimidating.

Joey however, wasn't that worried. "It's only 400 points stronger than my dragon, so it was a waste."

Umbra smiled as the Field Spell slot of his duel disk opened. "We'll see how you feel after I activate The Seal of Orichalcos!"

Both the Red-Eyes and Blue-Eyes duelists almost went into shock as the green circle shone on to the field, trapping them until the duel had ended. The menacing symbol appeared on the heads of both Lumis and Umbra (8/2800 + 500 = 3300)/2100) (6/1000 + 500 = 1500/2000).

Umbra's grin was a lot more terrifying now. "And to top it all off, my monster can attack twice per turn, meaning your monster is about to become extinct, Kaiba. Twin Dragon, Evolution Twin Burst!"

The 4 combatants watched as Kaiba's set monster was revealed, showing a small clown, with clothes larger than its body (3/500/1200), before it was obliterated by the blast.

Kaiba smirked. "That was my Peten the Dark Clown, and when this monster gets destroyed I can banish it and summon another copy." As he spoke, a duplicate of the clown appeared next to him, where its first copy had fallen.

Umbra growled in anger. "Cyber Twin, hit it again!" The blast destroyed the 2nd clown, but only gave birth to another one.

Lumis turned to his partner. "Are you blind? You could have brought Wheeler even further down. He goes next, and his Red-Eyes is a threat."

Umbra, however, was having none of it. "You can handle wheeler with your Diva, I'm going after Kaiba and I will crush him. I end my turn with a face-down card."

Joey smiled, immediately inserting the card he had drawn. "My Mystical Space Typhoon destroys your little face-down, which means it will be easy to take out."

Umbra looked at Joey with a smug grin. "Too bad you can't, my dragon is far too powerful for you to handle."

Joey smirked, sliding another card into his duel disk. "I activate Trap Booster, which allows me to discard a card and in turn, activate a Trap from my hand, like my Metalmorph to give my Red-Eyes an extra 300 ATK!"

Suddenly, the dark dragon became encased in a metal armour, as it slightly grew in power. (7/2400 + 300 = 2700/2000)

Umbra, however, shrugged. "You are still 600 points short, Mr. Wheeler. I understand you may be focused on your sister, but do try to duel properly."

Joey let out a small laugh. "I'm dueling as I usually do, and that's how I win. When a monster equipped with Metalmorph attacks, it gains half the attack points of the attack target. Red-Eyes, show him what we mean with Mechanized Inferno Blast!"

Umbra's eyes bugged out of his head as the two monsters met for battle. His Cyber Twin Dragon launched a large energy burst at Joey's mechanized Red-Eyes, but the metal absorbed the blast and made the monster stronger (7/2700 + 1650 = 4350/2000). And with it being powerful enough, it struck down the double-headed monster, and left everyone in the duel now having lost some points.

(Lumis: 800, Kaiba: 6600, Umbra: 6950, Joey: 6600)

By the time the smoke cleared, Umbra was breathing hard, and Joey was standing triumphant. "That's enough damage for now. I throw two face-down cards to end my turn."

Lumis frowned as he drew his card. "My colleague may have not seen you as a threat, Mr. Wheeler, but I assure you that I do. I shall dispose of your Red-Eyes by attacking it with my Bloom Diva."

As the monster charged at the mechanical dragon, however, it suddenly changed route to attacking Seto's Peten, who was now wearing an odd armour. Though the attack seemed to do nothing, Peten eventually exploded, his small dagger striking Kaiba.

(Lumis: 800, Kaiba: 6100, Umbra: 6950, Joey: 6600)

Despite the hit, however, Kaiba was smiling. "You ran straight into my Attack Guidance Armour, which allowed me to direct your attack towards, Peten." He gave a curt nod to Joey, who returned it in understanding. "That, my friends, is how you defend a teammate. I'd like to see either of you doing the same."

Lumis growled. "I end my turn with a face-down card. Make your move, Kaiba."

The CEO of Kaiba Corp. chuckled. "Gladly. I choose to activate the card I just drew, also known as Silver's Cry! Now I get to bring back a Normal Dragon monster, from my grave. Arise, my Blue-Eyes!"

All of a sudden, the legendary dragon was back on the field, looking ready to tear the two revived duelists apart (8/3000/2500). Things got even worse as Kaiba revealed another three cards in his hand.

"I play Polymerization, fusing the Blue-Eyes on my field, with the two in my hand, in order to bring out the most powerful Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (12/4500/3800)!"

Two more copies of the white dragon emerged, and all three disappeared into a portal. What emerged from the portal was something truly terrifying. It carried the original body of the Blue-Eyes, but had three heads. It smiled at Umbra, and blasted him down, already knowing what his master would command.

(Lumis: 800, Kaiba: 6100, Umbra: 2450, Joey: 6600)

Kaiba smiled. "You two aren't tag dueling, it might as well be a battle royale. I play my Dragon Shield. Now my Ultimate Dragon can't be destroyed by battle or by card effects, and any battle damage is negated. And I assure you Lumis, I'm not worried about your Diva harming me. I end my turn with another face-down." His three-card backrow was enough to steer anyone away from trouble, something Umbra kept in mind as he drew. Smiling, he knew what his moves were.

"I activate my face-down Re-Fusion, which allows me to pay 800 life points to bring back my Cyber Twin Dragon (8/2800 + 500 = 3300/2100)"

(Lumis: 800, Kaiba: 6100, Umbra: 1650, Joey: 6600)

The double-headed machine appeared again. Joey eyed one of his face-downs, but otherwise said nothing.

"I play De-Fusion, allowing me to separate my Fusion into his components. Come back, my servants!" (5/2100 + 500 = 2600/1600) x2

The monster split into its weaker parts. Umbra smiled as he summoned a new monster. A small metal monster that was absolutely tiny compared to the rest of his cards (3/300 + 500 = 800/800).

"This is my Cyber Kirin, and by tributing it I make any effect damage this turn 0. This allows me to use my Power Bond to fuse the two Cyber Dragons on the field with the third in my hand in order to summon the almighty Cyber End Dragon (10/4000 + 500 = 4500/2800)!"

As the three duplicate machines merged, a bright light enveloped the area. When the light faded, a new monster was present. As to be expected, the mechanical dragon had three heads, as well as large wings protruding from its back. It stood over the duel, easily the strongest figure there.

Umbra's grin was like a maniac. "Power Bond comes with an extra effect. The monster summoned gains its original attack. I would take damage equal to the original attack at my end phase, but my Kirin negates the damage (10/4500 + 4000 = 8500/2800). Now, Cyber End, wipe out Joey's-"

"Not so fast Umbra!" came the call of the blonde duelist. "I activate Celebration of Creation, which activates when a monster is Special Summoned through a Spell or Trap, and it ends the turn immediately."

Umbra frowned at the halt in movement, but shrugged. "No matter, I end my turn."

Joey smiled as he drew. "Sorry to stop your big move, though. I'm sure it was great, but I didn't feel like getting hit with that kind of damage." Examining his hand slowly, he tried to figure out a good move, finally noticing an interesting idea. "I activate Roll of Fate which allows me to roll a six-sided die. I then draw cards equal to the result, as well as send the top cards off my deck equal to the result. Give me some luck!" When the die stopped, he let out a huge gin. "Alright, now I draw 4 cards and send the top 4 to my grave!" He drew his four cards, but the last one left him shocked.

'Wait a minute, why is this card here? It's got to be because the Orichalcos is back! Oh well, here goes."

He smiled as his Red-Eyes Black Dragon disappeared, and was replaced by a much creepier version. (9/2400/2000) "This, my good friends, is my Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, and he gains attack points equal to the number of dragon-type cards in my grave x 300. And not only is there my Chick and the original Red-Eyes, but I lost two copies of Red-Eyes Wyvern as well as Meteor Dragon with my Roll of Fate, meaning he gains a whole lot of points (9/2400 + 1500 = 3900/2000)"

Umbra felt fear at the sudden appearance of the strong beast, but then burst out laughing. "You're 4600 points short, Mr. Wheeler.

Joey, however, was grinning like a Cheshire Cat. "I activate Silver's Cry, to revive my Red-Eyes (7/2400/2000) (9/3900 = 300 = 3600/2000)!"

The signature dragon appeared next to its dark counterpart.

"And now I place the ultimate Spell into play! Activate, The Claw of Hermos!"

Kaiba's eyes widened at the card being called. He was in disbelief. But sure enough, one of the three Legendary Dragons appeared next to the two dragons. It fused with the original black dragon, producing a sword which the dark dragon was able to grab with its claws.

Joey let out a little grin. "My Red-Eyes Black Dragon Sword has a pretty amazing ability. It gives the monster equipped an extra 1000 attack points. Also, my Darkness Dragon regains the 300 since Red-Eyes hit the grave (9/3600 + 1300 = 4900)."

Umbra shrugged. "Still not enough, Joseph."

Joey wagged his finger at the Cyber Duelist. "You said that about my Metalmorph. My Sword has one final effect. My monster gains 500 attack for every Dragon on the field and in the grave."

Umbra let out a loud gasp, but Kaiba interrupted. "Since I am the genius here, I'll do the math. From me alone, Darkness gains 2000 points from my three Blue-Eyes and my Ultimate Dragon. Then, he gains another 500 straight away for Darkness. As for his grave, there's five dragons, so it gains 2500. That means a 5000 boost overall.

The dragon almost doubled in size (9/4900 + 5000 = 9900/2000). Joey however, showed no sign of noticing the change. "And to finish it off, I play Foolish Burial, sending my Black Metal Dragon to give it another 800 points (9/9900 + 800 = 10700/2000). Now, Darkness Dragon, end Umbra with Infernal Slash!"

The dragon sped towards its mechanical enemy, creating a giant explosion. By the time the smoke cleared, Umbra lay unconscious on the floor, his soul lost to the Orichalcos.

(Lumis: 800, Kaiba: 6100, Umbra: 0000, Joey: 6600)

Joey grinned. "I end my turn with a face-down."

Lumis drew his card nervously, but then drew, and he smiled as he did. "I activate Thousand Draw. I target one monster on the field, and draw a card for every 2000 attack points it has. So by targeting the Darkness Dragon, I draw five cards! And I also use Pot of Greed to draw two more cards!" Drawing, he smiled at his twelve card hand hand. "It's over for you, Mr. Kaiba. I activate my second Polymerization, fusing my Choir with Shopina the Melodious Maestra in order to summon Schuberta, the Melodious Maestra (6/2400/2000). And upon her summoning, I can banish up to three cards and give her 200 points for each. So bye bye Blue-Eyes and hello 600 points!"

All of a sudden, the fairy that had plagued the field for so long was gone. Instead, there was now a dancer with hair that looked like it had been kissed by fire. In front of it, the spirits of Kaiba's ace trio appeared, before she absorbed them. (6/2400 + 600 + 500 = 3500/2000) (9/10700 – 1500 = 9200/2000)

Lumis inserted another card into his disk. "I activate my third Polymerization, fusing two Melodious monsters in my hand in order to form another Schuberta. And I'll banish Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and the two copies of Wyvern!"

Another copy appeared, and replicated its first version's actions. (6/2400 + 600 + 500= 3500/2000) (9/9200 – 2400 = 6800/2000)

Lumis grinned. "Now I can refresh your memory with a second Photon Lead, summoning a second Tam-Tam, and taking a poly back from my graveyard to my hand. And I'll use it to fuse Tam-Tam with the Melodious monster in my hand to bring out my final Schuberta and banish Chick, Black Metal Dragon, and Meteor Dragon!"

A dancer long forgotten appeared, before disappearing to be replaced by the third copy of Lumis' monster, who repeated the actions of the replica before it (6/2400 + 600 + 500 = 3500/2000) (9/6800 – 2400 = 4400)

Lumis smiled, four cards still visible in his hand. He slid three cards in. "I activate three copies of Melodious Healing. I call out a Melodious monster, and gain the total attack points of every monster with that name. So by activating three copies and declaring Schuberta, I gain 31500 life points."

Immediately, he looked stronger than ever, and almost maniacal.

(Lumis: 32300, Kaiba: 6100, Joey: 6600)

Sliding the final card into his disk, he grinned a little. "I activate De-Fusion to return your Ultimate Dragon back to the Fusion Deck Kaiba!"

All of a sudden, the dragon disappeared, leaving Kaiba wide open. Lumis smirked. "You die now, Seto, and Mokuba with you! Schubertas, END HIM!"

The fairies converged on Kaiba, hitting him with all they had. By the end of it all, he looked like he was done. The life point counters, however, told a different story.

(Lumis: 32300, Kaiba: 6100, Joey: 6600)

Lumis was livid. "Explain how you just survived 10500 points of damage, NOW!"

Kaiba smirked. "Upon your first attack, I used Magical Trick Mirror to steal your Melodious Healing, which allowed me to gain 10500 before being hit by that amount, so you failed to do anything at all. You are out of your league, Lumis. And now I intend to crush you."

Lumis laughed. "Look at my life point meter, and say that again. I end my turn."

Kaiba gave a friendly smile. "You have 32300 Life Points, but I still will crush you. And it starts with Card of Demise so I can draw until I hold five cards in my hand." Drawing, he smirked. He had five cards in his hand and two set cards, and that was enough to end it, near about. "I activate Dimension Fusion, which allows me to pay 2000 Life Points to allow all of us to Special Summon our banished monsters. You have none, but Wheeler and I do. Care to help out Joey? I bring out my three Blue-Eyes once more (8/3000/2500) x3!"

(Lumis: 32300, Kaiba: 4100, Joey: 6600)

The three legendary dragons appeared once more, ready to guide Kaiba.

Joey, meanwhile, was bringing out his own army. "I summon both Red-Eyes Wyverns (4/1800/1600) X2, Meteor Dragon (5/1800/2000) and Red-Eyes Black Dragon (7/2400/2000)!"

The blonde duelist's own field was now filled with dragons, which made the sword in the darkness dragon's grasp grow in power. (9/4400 + 3500 = 7900/2000)

Lumis gave the two a smug grin. "A useless move, boys."

Kaiba was unperturbed, however, as he slid another card into his disk. "Shut up for a few minutes, would you? I activate Spell Reproduction, discarding Cost Down and Soul exchange in order to fetch Polymerization, which I then activate to resummons the Ultimate Dragon (12/4500/3800)!"

As the three-headed behemoth appeared once more, the sword gained power again (9/7900 + 500 = 8400/2000)

Kaiba slid the last card in his hand into his disk. "I activate Fang of Critias, which I use to fuse with my Tyrant Wing to summon Tyrant Burst Dragon (8/2900/2500)!

Emerging now was a black dragon. However, its wings were golden. Almost immediately, it disappeared, transferring its power into the Ultimate Dragon. Giving it those same golden wings. (12/4500 + 400 = 4900/3800).

"My Tyrant Burst Dragon allows me to give my monster an extra 400 attack points by removing it from play. Not only that, but my monster can attack every single one you have!"

Lumis gasped loudly, but smirked. "Yet not powerful enough to defeat me, Mr. Kaiba. I will still have life points at the end."

Kaiba spared a glance towards Joey. "If you will?"

Smirking, Joey revealed his own face-down card. "I reveal Tailor of the Fickle, which can be used to transfer my sword to Kaiba's Dragon!"

Sharing a glance, the darker dragon passed the sword to Kaiba's monster, who gripped onto it tightly (9/7900 – 5500 = 2400/2000) (12/4500 + 5500 – 10000/3800).

Lumis felt a fleeting moment of fear, then smiled. "You will deal 21000 points of damage to me. Rather large, but my points will still be high enough to survive!"

Kaiba smirked. "I have one more face-down, Lumis. Reveal trap card Rebirth Judgment! This allows me to declare a type, and allow all monsters in our grave to become that type. And I can think of no better type than Dragon!"

Lumis gasped, taking in what this meant.

Kaiba continued. "Now I have Peten and Kaibaman, so there is an instant 1000. But let's talk about your grave. You used 3 monsters to bring out Bloom Diva, then that and 5 other monsters to bring out the triple Schuberta. That would be 10 monsters changing to Dragon, for an overall boost of 5000 (12/10000 + 5000 = 15000/3800!"

Lumis had no witty response this time. "But that means-"

Kaiba finished for him. "It means you're taking 12000 damage each hit, for a grand total of 36000, which is more than enough to beat you. Lumis, this is goodbye. I said I would crush you. Ultimate Dragon, end this with Ultimate Tyrant Burst!"

The dragon, now at a strength to rival the gods, blasted down the three monsters belonging to Lumis. The blast knocked him unconscious slowly before the Seal took his soul.

(Lumis: 0000, Kaiba: 4100, Joey: 6600)

Both duelists were breathing heavily, but still they went over to the bodies of the fallen duelists. Receiving the keys, they went over to their siblings.

No harm had come to Serenity or Mokuba, as both Kaiba and Joey had been able to keep their life points high enough. Kaiba and Joey worked together to get Mokuba out though, whose was partly submerged due to Kaiba using Dimension Fusion. Once both were definitely okay, Joey spoke.

"How you hanging in there, Kaiba?"

Seto's reply came in ragged breaths. "I'll be fine." Turning to Joey, he nodded in thanks. "Your Tailor of the Fickle helped give me what I needed to defeat Lumis, thank you."

Joey smiled. "You kept my Red-Eyes out, which meant I could get Darkness out and win next turn with Umbra."

That reminded Kaiba of something. "When did your deck become red-Eyes centred anyway?"

Smiling, Joey handed Kaiba his deck. "I called in a favour with Pegasus after we got the mind message. He gave me some new cards." Taking two small enveloped out his jacket, he handed one to Kaiba. "I got cards for you and Yuge as well. I just decided to focus mine more, your deck should be able to use these cards without changing much."

Kaiba took his envelop away and put it in his coat pocket, then examined Critias closely. "So I guess we're definitely back to being the chosen ones again."

Joey smirked, holding Hermos up. "I guess so, which means Yugi probably is going to get Timaeus. In the meanwhile, we should get these guys back to somewhere safe. You know anywhere?"

Kaiba nodded. "Let's take them to the company for now. I trust Roland enough for him to keep them safe."

Nodding, Joey picked up Serenity, as Kaiba did to Mokuba, and they began a silent walk back to the CEO's hopefully safe haven.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Bonz grinned as he flipped over the card in his hand. "When you declare a direct attack on me while I control no cards, I can Special Summon my Ojama White (6/0/?) to redirect the attack to it!"

A new grotesque being appeared. It was white all over, and almost carried a heavenly feeling to it.

Bonz kept his grin throughout the summoning. "My monster's original defence is equal to the number of Ojama monsters in my graveyard x 700, meaning his defence points are strong enough to block you out."

Yugi gasped as the white monster grew in size (6/0/6 x 700 = 4200). The powerful knight's slash simply bounced off the monster and was enough to send him back to bump into Yugi.

(Bonz: 1700, Yugi: 3100)

Yugi frowned, but said nothing else as he ended his turn, feeling worry again.

Bonz smiled as he drew, immediately sliding the card into his duel disk. "I activate Card of Demise in order to draw until I hold five cards, on the cost of discarding during my fifth standby phase after activation!"

Grinning manically, he drew his cards. Immediately, he played a Field Spell. "Say goodbye to escape, Yugi! I activate The Seal of Orichalcos!"

"No!" Yugi called, but it was already too late. The green circle entrapped the duelists, ensuring them that only one would be allowed to leave. Bonz grinned as the dark symbol appeared on his head. Meanwhile, Ojama White gained power, (6/0 + 500 = 500/4200)

The grin on Bonz widened as another card was inserted into his duel disk. "Since Ojama Country is in my graveyard, I can play Ojama Street, which means all Ojama monsters have their attack and defence swapped. Sadly, your Joker is ok. But the newly powered Ojama Angel (6/500 +4200 = 4700/0) has no problems defeating it in battle. Ojama Angel, attack his Joker!"

The white humanoid slammed into the Joker, reducing him to mere pixels.

(Bonz: 1700, Yugi: 2200)

Bonz grinned.

"I end my turn with two face-down cards to end my turn. Try to beat me now, Yugi!"

Yugi drew his card, and smiled a little. "I use Graceful Charity, to draw three cards and discard two. Also, one of the cards I am discarding is Archfiend of Gilfer which I can equip to your monster to have him lose 500 attack points!"

A blue and crimson monster burst from the ground and latched on to Angel, weakening it slightly. (6/4700 – 500 = 4200)

Yugi smiled, knowing, just knowing, that this was going to work. Up next, he placed a monster on his duel disk.

"I summon Alpha the Magnet Warrior (4/1400/1700)!"

In front of the battle-scarred duelist was what appeared to be a compilation of magnets. However, whatever it was, it drew its sword. All of a sudden, Yugi's face-down card was revealed.

"I use Ties of the Brethren. At the cost of 1000 life points, I can summon two level 4 or lower monsters from my deck as long as they are the same attribute as a monster I control! Arise, Beta (4/1700/1600) and Gamma (4/1500/1800)!"

(Bonz: 1700, Yugi: 1200)

Next to the assortment of magnets appeared two similar creatures. Bonz was about to say something, before Yugi revealed one of the two cards left in his hand.

"Brave Attack allows me to choose one monster, who gains attack points equal to the sum of my monsters, and it then does battle with your monster. My Battle Phase is skipped, and I lose my monster in the end, but it is worth it. Since the monsters summoned via Ties can't attack, it's up to Alpha! Go kill that overgrown angel!"

Alpha suddenly had a giant boost from his comrades (4/ 1400 + 1500 + 1700 = 4600/1700). With its newfound power, it charged at the Ojama Angel, finally destroying it.

(Bonz: 1300, Yugi: 1200)

Bonz let out a chuckle as the two cards on his field were revealed. "I activate Angel's Tears, and Hidden Demons. Angel's Tears allows me to increase my life points by the original DEF of Angel, meaning I gain 4200 life points!"

As he spoke, the white aura surrounded him, taking him away from a near defeat.

(Bonz: 5500, Yugi: 1200)

"And my Hidden Demons also activates upon the destruction of my Angel, and allows me to fetch my Ojama Devil from my deck. Anything else, Yugi?"

Yugi looked at the lone card in his hand, then nodded to Bonz. "I end my turn here." As those words left the field, his monsters were destroyed, leaving him with nothing.

Bonz didn't even look at the card he drew, immediately slapping a solitary monster onto the field. "I banish all Ojama monsters in my grave to summon Ojama Devil (8/0 + 500 = 500/?)!"

Appearing before the revived duelist was something that made the previous Ojamas seem like teddy bears. It was as if hell itself had been placed into the card.

Bonz smirked at the fearful look on Yugi's face, motioned to his demon. "My monsters original DEF is equal to the number of monsters I banished times by 1000. With seven monsters banished, and Ojama Street swapping his stats as well as the boost, he stands too strong for you to defeat!"

Ojama Devil grew to a size that one could see for miles (8/7 x 1000 = 7000 + 500 = 7500/0). It moves towards Yugi, slamming into him. However, when the smoke cleared, it was still trying to get past a wall of fur balls.

(Bonz: 5500, Yugi: 1200)

Yugi was heard over the dark monster's struggles. "By discarding Kuriboh, I can negate one instance of battle damage."

Bons growled, then laughed. "But even you cannot topdeck your way out of this, Yugi. It's over. I end my turn!"

Yugi stared at his deck in worry. _'He might be right, I don't even know if I currently have a card strong enough to beat him. Can I do this without Atem?'_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Joey could feel himself about to pass out from how exhausted he was, but he didn't care.

He and Kaiba had left their siblings with Roland, and now went to see Yugi dueling. They had seen the giant monster appear when they were close.

As they came over the last stretch, Joey was shocked to see Yugi behind so badly. He looked absolutely terrified, and had fallen to his knees. Ge was about to speak, before Kaiba interrupted him.

"I can't believe I have to ask this again, but since when do you bow to your rivals, Yugi!"

The change in Yugi's stature was amazing. "I answered never to that, and I will answer it again! It's my draw!"

Seeing the passion back in Yugi make Joey smile, and he was sure he could see Kaiba grin out of the corner of his eye.

Yugi smiled as he revealed the card he drew. "Card of Sanctity allows us both to draw until we hold six cards." Drawing the full six, he smiled at his hand. "It's over."

Bonz burst out laughing at the statement. "If you still had your gods I might believe you."

Yugi ignored the statement, however, and played his next card. "I activate Magical Stone Excavation, which allows me to discard two turns and in turn add a Spell card from my graveyard to my hand. I pick my Monster Reborn."

Bonz now watched, unsure of the plan that the King of Games was employing.

"I then activate Monster Reborn in order to bring back Dark Magician Girl (6/2000/1700)!"

The apprentice thought long gone appeared before the battered duelist, looking with hate at Bonz. Despite the Devil's high power, the woman didn't even show the slightest bit of fear.

Grinning, Yugi slid another Card into his disk. "Up next is the spell Sage's Stone, which I can use when Dark Magician Girl is on the field. I get to bring out my ace, the Dark Magician (7/2500/2100)!"

From Yugi's deck shot out a blinding light. When it subsided, a new monster was on the field. He was clad in purple, and bore a green sceptre. However, he disappeared as Yugi played his next card.

"Next up is Dedication through Light and Darkness. By tributing my Dark Magician, I can Special Summon Dark Magician of Chaos (8/2800/2600)!"

Appearing in place of the signature spellcaster was a blue-skinned sorcerer clad in clothing that was a mix of navy and crimson. The colour scheme was also matched with his staff. Yugi smiled as a card shout out of his graveyard.

"When my magician is summoned, I can bring back a Spell Card from my graveyard. I bring back Monster Reborn, and use it to revive my Dark Magician!"

The purple-robed spellcaster appeared next to the other two mages. They stared at Bonz, who merely chuckled.

"That can't hope to defeat me Yugi. It was a nice combo, but not near enough to defeat me." However, he found himself regretting his words when he saw that Yugi still had a card left in his hand.

"I told you it was over, Bonz. I activate The Eye of Timaeus! Fuse with my Magician of Chaos to form the Dark Chaos Dragon (9/3000/2000)!"

Appearing before Yugi was a teal dragon, who nodded to the blue-skinned mage. The magician hopped on the back of the dragon.

Bonz chuckled. "That isn't enough, Yugi."

Yugi ignored him. "I activate my Dragon's Special Ability. By paying 1000 life points…" The sorcerer aimed his staff at Yugi, and a dark aura appeared around him.

(Bonz: 5500, Yugi: 200)

"I'm allowed to fetch a Spell from my deck, which I activate immediately. Heavy Storm!"

Bonz gasped as a giant hurricane swept around the field. His cards were wiped away, all except for his Devil and the Seal (8/500/7000).

Yugi smirked. "Without your Ojama Street, your monster loses its power. Dark Chaos Dragon, attack with Chaos Breath!"

The dragon in question fired at the Devil, wiping it out and depleting Bonz's life points severely.

(Bonz: 3000, Yugi: 200)

Yugi gestured to his female mage next.

"Dark Magician Girl, hit him directly with Black Burning!"

The female apprentice moved over and hit Bonz with her staff, dropping him to his knees.

(Bonz: 1000, Yugi: 200)

Finally, Yugi gestured to his own signature monster. "And now, my Dark Magician, use Dark Magic Attack to end this duel!"

Yugi's ace aimed his sceptre at Bonz, and launched a powerful blast that hit Bonz straight on, knocking him down on his back and ending the duel.

(Bonz: 0000, Yugi: 200)

As the seal disappeared, leaving behind Bonz's empty body, Yugi was left breathing heavily, and he would have collapsed if Joey hadn't caught him.

Kaiba was the first to speak. "We need to get out of here, back to the company. We can talk there."

The trip to KaibaCorp was not long, and they found Roland waiting for them.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news, Mr. Kaiba."

Seto growled. "Unless it involved the end of the world, Roland, I really do not have the time for this.

Roland was impassive. "I think you will make time for this, sir. Marik Ishtar just showed up and took your younger brother and Serenity Wheeler."

Joey forgot himself and yelled in anguish. "Dammit! How the hell did he even get in?"

Roland took off his glasses, and displayed an evil grin. "That's the fun part, Mr. Wheeler. I let him in."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Remember to read and review :D**


	5. The Test

**Chapter 5 - The Test**

Seto Kaiba liked to consider himself a very intelligent person. He could outsmart just about anyone. He beat Gozaburo Kaiba on many occasions. He had lost few times, and never stayed down for long.

That being said, he could not work out why his most trusted employee would betray him in such a way.

"How?" He growled out, clenching his fists in fury. "How can you be working for those three? After all we've been through. I thought I could trust you."

Roland let out a smile. "You can trust me, Mr. Kaiba, for I did what needed to be done."

Joey was the next to speak, wishing he could punch Roland rather than have a conversation. Information was needed, however. "Our family didn't need to be taken."

Roland's look became sharp. "Mr. Wheeler, those three are stronger than you could ever imagine. The only way you can beat them is if you become inspired to do what needs to be done. Needing to save your family inspires you."

Yugi spoke last, an unreadable look in his eyes. "And what exactly needs to be done, Roland?"

Roland let out his smile. "You three simply need to evolve your dueling."

The three chosen duelists were confused at the declaration, though Joey was the first to respond.

"Evolve our dueling? What exactly does that even mean?"

Roland sighed, but nonetheless gave the Red-Eyes duelist an answer. "There is a stage in dueling you have yet to reach. In fact, those three have yet to reach it. We need you to reach it!"

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "And who exactly is we?"

Roland smiled. "We do not exactly have a name, but some call us The Guardians. Consider us as people who help conquer the darkness. It was us he led you to the Legendary Dragons, and it has now fallen to us to evolve your dueling style."

Kaiba stepped forward, activating his duel disk. "You want to show us how we can evolve? Then show me, and duel me!"

Roland smirked and extended his arm, a duel disk materialising around his arm. "As aggressive as ever, Mr. Kaiba. Your dueling spirit is truly amazing."

(Kaiba: 8000, Roland: 8000)

Roland smiled. "I shall begin our duel, Mr. Kaiba." Staring at his drawn card, he immediately slapped it down onto the field.

"I summon my Infernity Guardian (4/1200/1700) in defence mode."

Before the KaibaCorp employee appeared a burning skull. It had something that was wrapped around it, though Kaiba found it hard to identify what It was. Roland dismissed the puzzled look of his opponents by placing another two cards into his duel disk. "I shall end my turn with two face-down cards. Your move, Mr. Kaiba."

Kaiba drew with ferocity, before playing a different card onto his duel disk. "I summon Vorse Raider, in attack mode! (4/1900/1200) "

Next to the CEO appeared one of his well-known monster. The beast smirked at Roland's monster, sharpening its axe.

Kaiba gestured to the monster in question. "Destroy his Guardian with Blood Axe!"

Before the monster had even moved, Roland revealed his facedown card. "I activate Phantom Hand! Since I control an Infernity Monster, I'm allowed to remove all cards in my hand from play until my next Standby Phase. Furthermore, Guardian has an effect! While I have no cards in my hand, he is immune to destruction by battle or by card effects!"

Roland's cards suddenly vanished from his hand. At the same time, the axe collided with the Guardian, who deflected it as if it was nothing!

The spectators were intrigued by the unusual move.

"So he uses a deck that takes advantage of having no cards in the hand. That makes this very interesting." Yugi noted to Joey, who gave a silent nod.

Kaiba frowned, but placed a face-down card before ending his turn.

Roland grinned as he drew his next card, his hand rematerializing as he did. Looking at one of the cards in his hand, he removed his monster from the field.

"I sacrifice my Infernity Guardian in order to summon my Infernity Destroyer (6/2300/1000)!"

Replacing the guardian was a brand new monster. Its face was very demonic, and it stood much taller than the Vorse Raider. As if on cue, fire burst behind it, but subsided quickly.

"I then use Phantom Hand to empty my hand again!" His hands were again lost to the void.

Roland made no movement as he commanded his monster to move forward. However, it was momentarily stopped by Kaiba's move.

"I reveal Shrink, which allows me to cut your monster's attack in half, more than enough for Raider to kill."

However, his card short circuited and exploded! As Kaiba looked for a reason, a chuckle from Roland made it quite clear why his card was not working.

"Do not be so naïve as to think I would just charge so recklessly, Mr. Kaiba. Since I have no other cards in my hand, and have an Infernity Monster out, I can use my Infernity Barrier trap card, allowing me to negate your Shrink!"

Kaiba watched hopelessly as his monster was cut down without a moment's thought, the extra power striking him.

(Kaiba: 7600, Roland: 8000)

All of a sudden, the fire erupted again, engulfing Kaiba. Above the flames he could hear Roland yell.

"When my Destroyer bests one of your monsters in battle while I have no cards in my hand, you take 1600 damage!"

(Kaiba: 6000, Roland: 8000)

Roland smiled. "Mr. Kaiba, this is just the surface of the Infernities. If you are having trouble now, then you stand no chance. I end my turn here."

Kaiba let out a growl as he drew. "I am going to beat you, and then I'm going to save my brother." He stared over his hand, thinking of all his strategies, before finally deciding on a move. "I activate Cost Down, in order to lower the level of all monsters in my hand by two. Now I can summon my Kaiser Glider (6 – 2 = 4/2400/2000)!"

A new monster appeared in front of the Blue-Eyes user. It was a golden dragon, surrounded by flames. In mere moments, it cut down the demon, finally scratching Roland.

(Kaiba: 6000, Roland: 7900)

Kaiba smiled. "Much better. I end my turn with two face-down cards. Come at me with everything you have, Roland."

Roland gave a sickly grin as he drew. "With pleasure. First I activate the continuous Spell Wave-Motion Inferno, and I follow it up with Infernity Necromancer (3/0/2000) in attack mode!"

A mage appeared now. It was surrounded in a purple cloak, and its face was barely visible. As it stared Kaiba down, Roland made his cards disappear again. As he did, Necromancer started chatting.

"I use my Necromancer's effect! While I have no cards in my hand, I can revive an Infernity monster once per turn! I can think of no better than my faithful Destroyer!"

The familiar beast appeared again, ready to strike down its foes. However, Kaiba laughed.

"That monster isn't strong enough, Roland. You might want to just surrender if you plan on pulling that."

Roland, however, didn't seem perturbed in the least. "Mr. Kaiba. It is rude to talk before others are finished. Now, as I was going to say, the effect of my Wave-Motion Inferno gives all my Infernity monsters a 400 point boost as long as I have no monsters in my hand. Meaning I will have the power to beat you."

As he said that, there was a noticeable growth in both of his monsters. (4/0 + 400 = 400/2000) (6/2300 + 400 = 2700/1000)

"Now, my Destroyer, defeat his Kaiser Glider!"

The demon took the dragon down in an instant, and Kaiba had a sense of déjà vu as he was again enveloped by flames.

(Kaiba: 4100, Roland: 7900)

Roland frowned again. "This is not the true Seto Kaiba, duel me with all you have. "

Kaiba smirked. "By beating my Glider, I can return Destroyer to your hand, and that also means your cannon stops boosting Necromancer!"

The demon disappeared, as did the mage's power. (4/400 – 400 = 0/2000)

In response, Roland shrugged. " It makes no matter, I end my turn."

Kaiba drew with a sickly grin, immediately sliding one of the cards in his hand into his disk. "I use Silver's Cry, to revive my Blue-Eyes White Dragon (8/3000/2500)!"

In front of the young billionaire appeared his legendary dragon, who looked ready to tear Roland apart.

Roland looked on in shock. "And when did that thing enter your graveyard, Kaiba?"

Kaiba gave a smile in response. "I see you stopped calling me Mr. Kaiba, and just went for Kaiba. Eh. As for how my monster got in the grave, remember when I discarded for Cost Down? Now, back to business. I use the Spell Enemy Controller to switch your monster into attack mode!"

The Necromancer moved into an offensive position, despite Roland's gasps.

Kaiba let out his trademark smirk as he began to regain control again. "Blue-Eyes, show Necromancer why you're my best card!"

The white dragon let out a burst of energy, which engulfed both the mage and its master

(Kaiba: 4100, Roland: 4900)

Kaiba let out a smile. "I duel to win, Roland. Remember that. I end my turn with a single face-down card." After he spoke, a brown-backed card appeared behind the legendary dragon.

Roland smiled as he examined the card he drew. "I set one card then activate Contract with the Void! Now, by discarding my entire hand I get to summon an Infernity monster from among the cards discarded! I choose your downfall, also known as Infernity Archer (6/2000 + 400 = 2400/1000)!"

In front of the now handless duelist appeared a sinister bowman. It aimed its quiver at Kaiba, ready to fire on its master's command.

Roland gave his master a horrible smile. "While I have no cards in my hand, my Archer is able to attack you directly. Archer, attack my former boss with Dark Arrow!"

The monster in question was about to release its arrow, before it had its neck surrounded by a strange device.

Kaiba gave out a laugh. "After all the time, you've worked for me, you didn't see this coming? I used Ring of Destruction, which will destroy your Archer and deal us both damage equal to its attack. We'll both survive the damage, but my Blue-Eyes will wipe you out next turn! Now say goodbye to your last defence."

However, the explosion had no effect, which greatly confused the CEO. "What in the world? Care to explain?"

Roland gave a crude smile. "Gladly, Mr. Kaiba. I used the effect of my Infernity Bishop, which, while I have no cards in my hand, I can banish from the graveyard in order to negate the destruction of an Infernity monster. Archer, finish your job!"

This time, the arrow hit its target, bringing Kaiba down to his knees.

(Kaiba: 1700, Roland: 4900)

Roland smiled at his weakened opponent. "And with that, Mr. Kaiba, I end my turn. Do try and give me some form of a challenge, please."

Kaiba growled, but gave no further comment as he drew his card, more determined than ever to win this duel. "I activate Card of Demise to draw until I hold five cards in my hand, at the cost of discarding my entire hand during my 5th Standby Phase after I use this card." As he drew again into a full hand, he felt the weight lift off his shoulders.

Motioning towards his dragon, le let out an order. "Blue-Eyes, obliterate his Archer and bring me back into this duel."

The pale dragon let out a stream, threatening to reduce the archer to nothing. All of a sudden, however, a shield appeared in front of the fiend, easily absorbing the monster's attack.

Roland called out before Seto could question why his attack didn't work. "Apologies, Mr. Kaiba, but you really should have seen a trap coming. I used Void Shield, which allows me to negate up to two attacks per turn as long as I have no cards in my hand."

Kaiba frowned, but moved on nonetheless.

"I'll finish my turn with a face-down. Your turn, Roland."

Roland smirked as he drew his card, immediately sliding the card into his disk. "I activate Foolish Burial, which allows me to send a monster from my deck to the graveyard! I send my Infernity Pawn! And the best comes now, Mr. Kaiba. While I have no cards in my hand and it rests in my graveyard, I can skip my draw phase! So with that combined with Void Shield and Archer, I have an unbeatable combo! That won't matter this time, however. Archer, finish him off!"

The archer shot another arrow at Kaiba, who this time held a very smug grin.

"Reveal, Attack Guidance Armour! This card allows me to choose a monster for your Archer to attack, and Blue-Eyes seems like the perfect target!"

All of a sudden, an armour appeared around the white dragon, causing the arrow to be drawn towards it. The Blue-Eyes let out its signature roar, blasting the arrow away, as well as obliterating the monster that had fired it.

(Kaiba: 1700, Roland: 4300)

Roland frowned, but said no more.

Kaiba smiled as he snapped the next card off his deck. "You finally have nothing to say? Well, unfortunately for you, I do. I activate Heavy Storm to destroy your little combo!"

A powerful wind erupted onto the field. By the time it was gone, only Blue-Eyes remained. Kaiba took advantage of it, immediately sending his dragon to attack Roland. The force was enough to knock the ex-KaibaCorp employee onto his back.

(Kaiba: 1700, Roland: 1300)

Kaiba smiled as he inserted a card into his disk. "And next, since I just dealt direct damage, I can use Sebek's Blessing, which allows me to gain life points equal to the damage I just inflicted." As he spoke, he was surrounded in a green aura, rejuvenating him, and allowing him to breathe again.

(Kaiba: 4700, Roland: 1300)

Smirking, Kaiba set a card face-down. "I think that's a good position to be in to end my turn, You're up, Roland."

Roland shook his head as he drew. "If you think this duel is going to end in your favour just yet, Mr. Kaiba. I use the effect of the Infernity Archfiend in my hand! Since I drew him while I had no other cards in my hand, I get to Special Summon him to the field (4/1800/1200)!"

In front of the ex-right hand man was a new monster, again unfamiliar to anyone apart from Roland. It wore a blue armour, with it notably having an erratic design near the fiend's head. Its skin was purple, and it had bright orange hair. It turned to its master, who smiled and turned his attention to his opponent. "Upon being Special Summoned, if I have no cards in my hand, I can retrieve another Infernity card from my deck, like Infernity Launcher! I then activate it!"

Before Roland appeared a spell, showing Infernity Archfiend and an unknown monster. From the spell emerged a strange device that looked ready to blast.

Roland gestured to the device, and it immediately let loose a torrent of fire. "I use the 2nd effect of my Infernity Launcher! By sending it to the graveyard while I am handless, I'm allowed to revive two Infernity monsters. I pick Infernity Destroyer (6/2300/1700) and Infernity Necromancer (3/0/2000)!"

Two of the monsters that had caused Kaiba a lot of trouble appeared on the field alongside each other, thus making Roland's field a lot more troublesome. Seto, however, was not perturbed.

"I recall being able to take those monsters out, so bringing out more of your geek squad is hardly going to help you."

Roland shook his head, a soft smile appearing on his face. "Mr. Kaiba, it seems that I need to truly show you how to evolve your dueling. I use Necromancer's effect! Since I have no cards in my hand, I can revive a monster I discarded with Contract to the Void, the Tuner monster, Infernity Beetle (2/1200/0)!"

Next to the assortment of fiends appeared a dark insect that looked ready to tear the young CEO apart. That wasn't what caused Kaiba to raise an eyebrow, however.

"Roland, I'm an expert on this game, yet not once has the term Tuner ever crossed my mind. So why don't you just surrender the game rather than creating new game mechanics?"

Roland let out a little smile. "Tuners are how we evolve, Seto. And I start by using Beetle's effect. Since I have no cards in my hand, I can sacrifice him to bring out two copies in his stead!"

Just as Roland said, the lone beetle was replaced by two more, both mirroring the look the first copy had given off.

Roland lifted his hand up to the air. "I tune the level 3 Necromancer with the level 2 Beetle in order to perform a Synchro Summon!"

Needless to say, Kaiba was again struck off guard by the man's declarations. "What on earth is a Synchro Summon?"

Roland smiled. "A Synchro Summon can only be achieved via a Tuner monster. I add up the level of the Tuner as well as all the levels of the non-tuners, and Synchro Summon a Synchro monster with the total level. So, thus. I tune the non-tuner Level 3 Necromancer with the Tuner level 2 Beetle!"

Both monsters in question jumped into the air. A yellow outline of Necromancer appeared before it was replaced by three stars. Meanwhile, two green rings had appeared where Beetle was once. The stars went through the rings, and the area was suddenly enveloped by a white light. Above all of the action, Roland's voice could be heard.

_"Sorcerer of the Underworld, Hell's Creature, come together as one! Come to form the power to strike down all who stands before you! Synchro Summon! Level 5! Ally of Justice Catastor!"_

The light finally faded, revealing an odd metallic creature. It stood on spider-like legs, and was a mixture of silver and gold. Needless to say, it was an odd creature (5/2200/1200).

Before Kaiba could assess the new threat, Roland had spoken again, as more of his monsters leapt into the air.

"Next, I use my Level 6 Destroyer with my 2nd Level 2 Beetle!"

A similar ritual as the first took place, only now 6 stars passed through the green rings. It was also notable that the light given off was much darker, and for a moment, Seto was again robbed of his site. Like last time, only Roland's voice was his guide.

_"Hell's Creature, Demon Warrior, unite your powers to create the ultimate force! Devastate your opponents with your mighty force! Synchro Summon! Level 8! Void Ogre Dragon!"_

From the dark mist emerged a dragon that seemed more sinister than anything Kaiba had ever had the pleasure of encountering. Its dark appearance was almost a complete opposite of the Blue-Eyes, which it stared at menacingly (8/3000/3000).

Roland gave off a sickly smirk as he was surrounded by his new and improved army.

"Now Mr. Kaiba, where were we?"


	6. The Evolution of Duel

**Ah yes, I am afraid I hold no excuse for the large gap between these two chapters. All I can really say was I was not motivated at the time to write this chapter, and I feel this chapter deserves my motivation. I don't know how long until the next chapter will be here. I'm constantly busy with school, but I hope that I can update this every once in a while.**

**Now, without further ado, the chapter. **

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**Chapter 6 – The Evolution of Duel**

To be honest, after all this time, Yugi Muto had come to the conclusion that there was nothing he had yet to see. He had faced Egyptian Deities, beings of Atlantis, and every other piece of magic one could imagine. That's why he was worried at the fact that he was on completely new ground.

"Synchro Summon?" were the words that left him, but they only came out as a murmur, and the question lingered in the air, as the four people involved in this situation stood in silence. The silence did not stay long, however, as it was quickly broken by Roland, the man who had betrayed Kaiba, and was now dueling in a way no one had been witness to before.

"Why yes, Mr. Muto. Synchro Summon. You see, you three may be the world's top duelists, but my group and I are much more advanced in this game than the you can possibly imagine." Roland's smirk was more prominent than ever, as he stood behind the army he had assorted.

Joey was the next to speak, and the anger was easily found within his voice. "I knew it, you're a traitor! You do work for Marik and the others. They must have got this Synchro garbage while they were wallowing in defeat after Yugi was done with them. So how about you surr- "

Whatever was on the blonde's mind was cut off by Roland, who seemed to drop his composure for a brief moment. Anger consumed him for a moment, but it left just as quickly as it had arrived. "All these years past, Mr. Wheeler, and you are still unable to control your temper. You will come to regret that eventually. As for who exactly my group are, surely the three of you can understand that there are multiple sides in a war. I assure you that I am in no way associated with the dark trio. They are merely a means to bringing out your true potential."

Once again, the flow of conversation went back to Yugi, who notably carried more anger in his voice than one would expect of him. "Our true potential? How in any way does that involve letting Bakura and the other two capture our family? And if you aren't with them, or with us, then what exactly do you and your group want?"

Roland's smirk instead became a softer smile, as he lowered his head. "If I am angering Yugi Muto, then clearly my group's plan is working. However, Mr. Moto, you raise some excellent questions. We let your family be kidnapped, as you always become more determined when you know a loved one is at risk. As for who I am, and who I belong to, I assure you those questions will take far too long to answer."

Joey spat out his next words. "Try us!"

Roland let out a frustrated sigh. He really did not want to waste his time on matters like this, but it seemed he lacked a choice in the matter. "Very well. I represent a group that is powerful beyond your wildest imaginations. It is our job to make sure the balance of light and dark is not disturbed. And now that the darkness has got a boost, we saw it only fit to give the good side a boost as well."

Both Yugi and Joey were ready to protest, but it was a different voice that entered the conversation.

"You know you're bad when an arrogant billionaire even finds your actions to be despicable."

The three turned to Seto Kaiba, who had remained silent since Roland's first Synchro Summoning. He was looking at his former employee with absolute hate, and his anger sent a chill through the air.

Kaiba growled his next words, his voice dripping with venom. "You're meaning to tell me that while people lose their lives, their souls, and their loved ones, your group are just sitting around, moving pieces as if you're playing chess! Mark my words, Roland. After I've personally destroyed Dartz and his goons, I am going to come at you and your group with my entire arsenal and obliterate anything you hold dear."

Roland frowned at the CEO. This confrontation was not going at all how he expected it to go. Truth be told, he was hoping that the duel would have ended by now, and he would have been convincing the trio to fight. "Mr. Kaiba, I can assure you that no one has died as a result of this war yet."

He was unable to talk much longer, as Kaiba cut into the conversation, his anger evidently rising. "Yet? You know what you are doing can seriously harm people, but you don't care as long as that precious thing you call balance sticks around. So here's what's going to happen. I'm going to beat you. Then I'm going after Dartz and the other two to get my brother back. And after that, I'm coming to tear down your group piece by piece. Now hurry up and continue the duel!"

In return, Roland let out a frustrated sigh. "Very well, Mr. Kaiba. But I see no point in continuing the duel. You may have higher life points, but I am just a few steps away from winning this duel. Just look for yourself and see."

As much as he would hate to admit it, Seto was unable to deny that the ex-KaibaCorp employee had a point. On his own side, Kaiba had his Blue-Eyes White Dragon (8/3000/2500) as well as a single face-down card. However, he felt insurance as he looked at the two cards in his hand, as they seemed like they could help him. Meanwhile, Roland's side was much more intimidating. On Roland's left stood the powerful Ally of Justice Catastor (5/2200/1200) while on his right was the fearsome Infernity Archfiend (4/1800/1200). Above the man, however, was the dominating figure known as Void Ogre Dragon (8/3000/3000). Smirking, Roland gestured to the mechanical monster. "Catastor, attack the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Despite the anger that continued to course through him, Kaiba widened his eyes in shock at the move. "What!? Why would you attack my Blue-Eyes with a weaker monster!"

Roland kept the grin on his face, as his monster began to charge up a laser, aiming it straight at the white dragon. "The answer to that is rather simple, Mr. Kaiba. You see, whenever Catastor battles a monster with an attribute other than Dark, that monster is destroyed before damage calculation. Show him what I mean, Catastor!"

As the monster's laser was released, however, a light enveloped Seto's side of the field. When the light died down, the Blue-Eyes was now being protected by a spinning shield, that was covered in Duel Monsters cards. Kaiba let out a small chuckle as he did so.

"Sorry, Roland, but I used my Card Guard." Kaiba yelled out, sliding a card from his hand into the graveyard. "At the cost of one card from my hand, I'm able to protect my monsters from destruction this turn. And then my Blue-Eyes can hit you back!"

However, Roland smiled as his dragon launched a black fireball at the shield, obliterating it and allowing the laser to continue and shatter the white dragon. "Sorry, Seto, but my Void Ogre Dragon allows me to negate a spell or trap card once per turn, as long as I have no cards in my hand. And with your monster destroyed, my Archfiend can attack you directly. Archfiend, show him what you've got!"

The disgusting fiend travelled towards the defenceless CEO, and let out its own sickly grin before slashing at him with its claws, pushing him down to one knee.

(Kaiba: 2900, Roland: 1300)

Smirking at the empty field he now faced, Roland gestured to the dragon above him. "You put up a better fight than I expected, Mr. Kaiba, but the time has come to end this duel. Void Ogre Dragon, finish Seto Kaiba with your Infernity Chaos Burst!"

The dragon released a larger fireball than before, which threatened to leave nothing if it were to hit the CEO. However, it never reached Seto, as the blast hit an invisible barrier before simmering away. Needless to say Roland was not pleased, but before he could make his frustration known, Kaiba let out a soft chuckle, as a card spat out of his duel disk and the CEO tucked it into his pocket.

"You really didn't think I wouldn't use a backup plan, did you Roland?" Kaiba said with a smirk, pulling himself back to his feet. "When I used Card Guard, I discarded a monster known as Necro Gardna (3/600/1300), which I can banish from my graveyard in order to negate the attack. Now, do you have anything else to beat me with or is it my turn?"

Roland let out an angry growl, but still ended his turn.

Kaiba let a grin come across his face as he drew his next card, smiling as he slid a card into his disk. "I activate Raigeki, which allows me to destroy every single monster you control!"

"Void Ogre Dragon, negate Seto's card now!" was the shout that left Roland. Immediately, the dragon launched a blast skyward, creating a barrier which stopped the incoming lightning. Smirking at the failed attempt to destroy his monster, Roland looked to Kaiba. "Did you forget I could negate that?"

Kaiba's grin never left his face as he slid the card into his duel disk. "I never planned on destroying your monsters that way. I just needed this next card free to use. I activate Card of Sanctity!"

Roland let out a gasp as the familiar card appeared on the field, but said nothing as both players drew six cards. "That was a mistake, Mr. Kaiba, and you know it."

Kaiba let out a small chuckle as he examined his hand, before sliding another one of his cards into his duel disk. "Your deck benefits from no cards in your hand, so this is just perfect for me. Now, I use Monster Reborn in order to revive my Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Rising from the CEO's graveyard was his trademark dragon, which was determined to stay this time. It gave a mighty roar as it faced Roland and his army, ready to strike them down (8/3000/2500).

Kaiba smiled as he slid a 2nd card into his duel disk. "And now I use the spell card known as Mist Body, allowing my Blue-Eyes to receive immunity in battle. And with that done, I have to say that your Dragon has become really annoying. Blue-Eyes, re-establish your dominance with Burst Steam!"

As an aura appeared around the pale dragon, it released a white stream, heading straight for the dark dragon, which responded with its own blast, that was much darker. As the streams collided, they reflected, with each blast heading to the dragon that fired it. However, while the aura protected the dragon from any harm, Roland's dragon was not so fortunate, and it was wiped out by its own blast.

Joey, however, took issue with this matter. "Wait a sec, why didn't Kaiba destroy his Archfiend? That would leave Roland with just 100 points to his name, which seems like something Kaiba could easily finish off."

Yugi, however, smiled at his rival's move. "Void Ogre Dragon can negate Kaiba's moves. He took the dragon out so he can use his cards without worry again. Kaiba's playing smart."

Smiling at Yugi's praise, Kaiba slid another two cards into his duel disk, leaving his hand size at a mere two. "I end my turn, Roland. Do try and keep up now your ace is gone."

Roland's respond was to give a deep laugh. "Mr. Kaiba, if you think Void Ogre Dragon was my ace, then you are in for quite the shock. My turn!" Snapping the card off the top of his disk, he immediately slid three cards onto his duel disk. "I place two cards face-down and then summon my Infernity Sage in attack mode (2/400/800)!"

As two brown-backed cards appeared at Roland's feet. Next, appeared a cloaked fiend, that immediately launched a dark aura at Roland's hand obliterating it.

Roland smiled. "Once per turn, I can discard a single card due to my Sage's effect. But while I control another Infernity monster, I can instead discard my entire hand, which means your Card of Sanctity did nothing to stop my Handless Combo. But moving on, I tune my Level 2 Infernity Sage with my Level 4 Infernity Archfiend. Arise from the darkness, Psychic Nightmare (6/2400/1800)!"

As the two fiends disappeared, a new monster appeared in their place. To be honest, Kaiba was having a hard time working what exactly the monster in question was. Whatever it was, it spread its wings, ready to pounce.

Roland outstretched his hand, gesturing towards his grotesque new Synchro. "I use the effect of Nightmare. Once per turn, I pick a card in your hand, and call either Monster, Spell, or Trap. If I turn out to be right, then my monster gains 1000 attack until the end of the turn. So I'll pick the card on your left, and guess it to be a monster!"

The creature released a red aura, which surrounded the card in question, eventually revealing it to be Saggi the Dark Clown (3/600/1500). Immediately, the aura flew back to the beast, making it much stronger (6/2400 + 1000 = 3400/1800). Smirking, Roland pointed towards the bright dragon. "Catastor, wipe his Blue-Eyes out!"

As the machine charged up its laser, however, Kaiba responded in kind with the reveal of his own face-down. "I activate DNA Transplant, which allows me to declare any Attribute, and that's what all monsters become. Since there's only one Attribute that can survive Catastor, I'll call it. DARK!"

As he spoke, there was a notable change in his white dragon. It changed to the blackest colour, and released a dark stream, which was able to completely annihilate the now weaker machine.

(Kaiba: 2900, Roland: 500)

Yugi smiled softly at his rival and friend. "There's the Seto Kaiba that I've faced countless times before."

Roland stared silently at the empty space where his monster once stood, but ordered his Nightmare to attack the Blue-Eyes, damaging it slightly, and causing Kaiba to wince in pain.

(Kaiba: 2500, Roland: 500)

Roland ended his turn, observing as the strange creature shrunk in size (6/3400 – 1000 = 2400/1800). Kaiba snatched the next card off the top of his deck with a smile plastered on his face. He immediately slid the next card in his deck into his duel disk. "I use Brain Control, paying 800 life points in order to take control of your monster!"

(Kaiba: 1700, Roland: 500)

Two long arms appeared, and immediately charged for the grotesque monster. Roland, however, responded with a move of his own. "I use my trap card, Synchro Barrier. Now by sacrificing my Nightmare, I'm able to make it so I take no damage this turn!" The bizarre creature disappeared as the arms grabbed onto nothing, and a forcefield materialised itself around the ex-KC employee.

Frowning, Kaiba placed another card on his duel disk. "I set one monster in defence mode, and end my turn."

However, Roland interrupted by revealing another face-down. "I activate Infernity Break. Since I have no cards in my hand, I can banish an Infernity Monster from my graveyard in order to destroy one of your cards! So by banishing my Infernity Archfiend, I get to obliterate your Blue-Eyes!"

The archfiend appeared briefly for a second, before charging at the white dragon in an explosion that destroyed them both. A flicker of anger could be seen in Seto's eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it had arrived.

Roland smiled as he drew his next card, and grinned evilly at the results of his draw. "I activate the Spell Card Death Tune! When I have 1000 life points or less, I can Synchro Summon a monster by banishing the appropriate materials from my graveyard. I banish my Void Ogre Dragon, as well as my Infernity Sage, in order to summon a power unlike any other!"

Ghostly figures resembling Roland's fallen monsters appeared, and immediately disappeared into the standard green rings.

_"Dragon of the Abyss, combine with Hell's Sorcerer in order to form your ultimate power. Arise from the depths of the underworld itself! Synchro Summon! Level 10! Come forth, Infernity Emperor Dragon! (10/3800/3500)"_

Arising from a hole in the ground was a dragon that made the Blue-Eyes look like a chew toy. It spread its wings, and hovered above the duel. It was terrifying enough to send a chill through the spines of Yugi, Kaiba, and Joey, which was rare when considering all they had experienced.

Roland smirked as he looked at his monster. "Quite the impressive specimen, isn't it? And to make it even better, while I have no cards in my hand, my monster can prevent itself from being destroyed twice per turn. Now, Emperor Dragon, attack his Saggi with Infernal Stream!"

The moment the command left its master's mouth, the dragon released a stream of dark energy, which headed straight for the clown, engulfing him. The small fiend never stood a chance, and all that was left was Kaiba's face-down card when the field had cleared.

Roland smiled at the CEO, his advantage clear to anyone watching. "I end my turn, Mr. Kaiba. I wish you good luck in your turn. You'll need it."

Kaiba said nothing as he drew his next card and immediately set it. He gripped the sole card in his hand and examined the two face-downs, doing what he could to formulate a plan, and hoping his next draw would help him out. "Make your final move, Roland."

Roland raised his eyebrows and let out a chuckle. "Finally, we agree on something, Mr. Kaiba, that this turn will be my last. I use the effect of my Infernity Pawn again, skipping my Draw Phase! Now, my dragon, show Mr. Kaiba that he can't win when he is like this. Infernal Stream!"

The blast struck Kaiba head on, forcing him back. However, letting out a mighty roar, he threw out his arms, pushing the blast into the sky.

Roland was completely flabbergasted. "What in the world? Mr. Kaiba, how on Earth did you walk away from that blast?"

Kaiba let out a small chuckle. "I guess you can say I have an Iron Resolve. Or I just used my trap card Iron Resolve! At the cost of half my life points, I take no damage from the battle and the Battle Phase is immediately ended. Do you have anything to add?"

(Kaiba: 850, Roland: 500)

Roland took a moment to consider his options, before his face broke open in a wide grin. "On your next Standby Phase, you will be forced to discard your hand due to Card of Demise. It's over Seto. I end my turn!"

Yugi frowned as he realised what Roland said was true. "Oh no, that means Kaiba has to survive another turn. But with just one face-down, what can he do?"

However, the tension was cut by the laugh of Joey Wheeler. "You both think Kaiba isn't aware of Card of Demise's downside? My bet is that face-down is going to help him with Demise. Kaiba's ending the duel this turn!"

Kaiba smiled at Joey, giving a slight nod. He turned his attention back to his opponent. "Believe it or not, Wheeler's right. My draw!" The moment he drew his card, however, a scythe cut his cards in half, leaving his hand empty.

Roland smirked at his former employer. "You were saying?"

Kaiba, however, simply pressed a button on his duel disk, revealing his trap card. "I use my Disgraceful Charity, replenishing my hand with the cards I just lost." The CEO smirked as the two cards returned to his hand, before immediately inserting one of the cards into his disk.

"I activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards, which should be just enough to win this duel." He snapped the next two cards off his disks, and his eyes widened at the two cards he had just drawn. _'What the hell? I've never used these cards before in my life. What the hell are they doing in my deck?'_ Staring at his field, and then reading what the cards did, he shrugged his shoulders. _'I guess after all this time; I've learned to just roll with it.'_

"I activate Balloon Party in order to summon two Balloon tokens to my side of the field!"

Before the CEO appeared two small hot air balloons, that were completely dwarfed by the large dragon. However, before Roland could speak another word, Kaiba slid another card into his duel disk. "I use Swing of Memories in order to revive my dragon! Arise for one final time, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

The dragon that had dominated the field constantly appeared again, refusing to back down despite the very intimidating dragon absolutely towering over it. Meanwhile, Kaiba slapped the final monster down onto his duel disk.

"I summon the Tuner monster known as Booster Dragon! (2/1000/0)"

Next to the white dragon appeared a much smaller needle shaped dragon, who stared up at its large comrade. Looking up at its enormous enemy, it let out a small roar, showing no fear.

Roland, meanwhile, was definitely shocked. "How on Earth did you unlock that power on your own? No one is that strong!"

Kaiba clenched his fist, smirking at his stunned opponent. "Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Roland. It never really ends well for the one making such claims. Booster Dragon, Blue-Eyes, tune together!"

The small dragon transformed into two green rings, while the Blue-Eyes turned into 8 bright stars. When the rings enveloped the stars, the bright light blinded everyone there. Above all the confusion, Seto could be heard, as powerful as ever.

"_Oh Legendary Dragon of the sky, become stronger as you evolve into your most powerful form! Synchro Summon! Level 10! Descend, Trident Dragion!"_

A much larger dragon now hovered by Kaiba, easily matching the size of Roland's monster. It had three heads, each of which gave a powerful roar (10/3000/2800).

Kaiba pointed at Roland, who was still silent in the wake of the Synchro Summon. "I'll take your silence as an indicator that you don't plan on responding to my summon. I use my Booster Dragon's effect and my Trident Dragion's effect. My Booster, when used for a Synchro Summon, gives the summoned monster a bonus 1000 attack points for the turn (10/3000 + 1000 = 4000/2800)! As for my Dragion, upon its summon it can destroy up to 2 cards I control, like my Balloon tokens. And for each card destroyed, my dragon gains an additional attack! Do your thing, Trident Dragion!"

The left and right heads opened their mouth, each absorbing a token. Once that was done, the three heads all charge up a fire burst, ready to blast on Kaiba's order. Kaiba could only smirk as he pointed at Roland's monster. "Destroy that overgrown piece of trash. Trident Dragion, Triple Energy Blast!"

First, the head on the left launched its blast, partially weakening the Emperor Dragon's armour.

(Kaiba: 850, Roland: 300)

Next, the right head launched its blast, completely obliterating the dragon's armour.

(Kaiba: 850, Roland: 100)

Finally, the centre head launched a powerful blast, destroying the dark dragon and knocking Roland onto his back.

(Kaiba: 850, Roland: 0)

By the time the smoke had cleared, Kaiba was down onto one knee, exhausted from the duel. Roland had managed to push himself to his feet, but was breathing heavily. "I must admit that I am impressed with your skill, Mr. Kaiba. But this was child's play compared to what Marik, Dartz, and the Thief King will be able to do!"

Kaiba was ready to open his mouth to respond, but instead it was Joey who answered, helping Kaiba up to his feet. "Then we'll beat them too. And afterwards, we're coming for you and your group. And we'll make sure you guys never hurt anyone again."

Roland smiled. "Then I shall see you again when the time comes. Good day, gentlemen." He pressed a button on his duel disk, and was gone before the three could say anything else.

Yugi looked to Kaiba, who was resting slightly on Joey's shoulder. "Are you ok, Kaiba?"

Kaiba nodded, pushing himself up so he was standing by himself. "I'll be fine, but we're going to need a few more Synchro duelists if we want to win against these guys. If I was able to evolve, then so can you two, and so can they. You guys up for a war?"

Joey gave a nod. "I was up for it the moment they took Serenity. And now, knowing the people they've hurt, we have an obligation to try and end this."

Yugi took a deep breath. "Let's get inside, I don't think any of us are up for a duel at this point in time. We need to catch our breaths and decide our next move."

With his two companions nodding at him, they turned and walked into Kaiba's building, hoping that no other employee had seen it fit to betray Kaiba.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In a dark room, footsteps echoed around the area as Roland walked towards a seat, sitting down and staring down into his darkness. "It appears we underestimated Seto Kaiba. He was able to unlock his potential without any help from us, or from his Legendary Dragon. What should we do not?"

A voice without a face responded calmly. "All this means is that our plan is going to move faster than expected. We'll just throw in power to the dark side so that we travel at the pace we want to feel. As for the threats you were given, I see it fit that we wait until they have won their battles with the Dark Trio. Then we can begin to address the threat they hold, even if they do decide to come for us."

Roland raised his eyebrows at the claim. From what he had heard, it seemed almost definite that the Light Trio would be after them. "And what do we do when they do come for us, Sir?"

And despite him seeing only darkness, he could have sworn the voice belonged to a face now wearing a smirk. "Then we show them what true power is, and crush them like the insignificant specks they truly are. They'll be obliterated before they even get to the first step."


	7. Become Stronger

**Chapter 7 – Become Stronger**

**I don't really have any reason for why I left this, or why I returned after over a year. But I had gotten an itch lately that needed to be scratched. I have no idea if I will continue, or when a new chapter will be here if I do. I can just say that I needed to write this. Hope you enjoy**

Yugi took a deep breath as he looked over his new deck. With the new cards that Joey, courtesy of Pegasus, had given him, he had upgraded his build. Looking through his cards, he remembered the tight situations each card had pulled him out of. The Magnet Warriors, Kuriboh, or his signature cards, the Dark Magicians. Each part of his deck played an important part in shaping his journey over the years, and it was saddening that he would again have to use him in such dangerous situations. He had enjoyed the fun duels, where nothing was on the line, when instead he could just relax and have fun. And this time was without Atem. No reassuring voice to help guide him, this was a journey he would have to conquer without his friend.

Putting his deck back together and shuffling it before inserting it into his duel disk, he stood up, making his way towards Kaiba's office. The CEO had sent all his staff away, unable to trust any of them after the betrayal of Roland. He wasn't surprised to enter a silent room. The other two had scarcely said anything, their minds on Serenity and Mokuba. Yugi's own mind drifted to his grandfather, whose location they had no clue on. One could only assume the dark trio was keeping a hold of him like they were the other two, in the hopes of gaining leverage to use against the light trio.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity, Kaiba spoke. "We're not strong enough yet."

The acknowledgement of that fact was felt amongst both Joey and Yugi, but to voice it made everything different. There was no doubt in their minds that their foes had gotten stronger, and their lackeys had given them a run for their money. If they struggled against such low-level goons, they would be decimated by the time they reached the finish line.

Joey was the next to speak, answering a question that had crossed all their minds for the last few hours. "So, what do we do then?" And if he was being fully honest, Yugi didn't even know if he had an answer to that. Kaiba had managed to unlock the potential of Synchro Summoning, but he wasn't even sure how he had managed it. But despite that little setback, Kaiba still moved, a sense of confidence in him.

"We can use the duel bot for now. Keep getting it to come at us with every strategy and improving our decks until they can handle anything these bozos are going to throw at us." With a small smirk on his face, he looked to his friends. Yes, friends, because Kaiba knew this was one battle he couldn't fight alone. "So, who wants to duel the robot first?"

Before Yugi had even opened his mouth, Joey spoke again, activating his duel disk. "Oh, I got dibs on your tin can. I am really in need of a good punching bag now." He cast an apologetic look towards his best friend. "Sorry, Yuge, but you're not getting a crack at it before I am."

Knowing a losing battle when he saw one, Yugi raised his hands, a small smile on his face. "I don't think I can argue on that one. Just try not to destroy the thing before I get a crack at it, ok?"

Joey chuckled, giving him a small nod. "Wouldn't dream of it."

Soon enough, there were in Kaiba's testing area. Now that the bot was all set up and ready to go, Joey was stood at the other side of the room, with Kaiba and Yugi both watching from the side-lines.

(Joey: 8000, Duel Bot: 8000)

"Draw card," came the automatic voice of the robot, adding a card to its 'hand'. It paused for a moment, no doubt calculating for the best course of action in the duel.

"Normal Summon: Armed Samurai – Ben Kei, in attack mode (4/500/800)," the voice ran out again. With a card appearing on its interface, it was soon accompanied by the appropriate hologram. A mischievous man cloaked in robes graced the field with his presence. Upon his bag was a rucksack with a plethora of weapons, each one looking more threatening than the last. But clearly, the robot was far from done, as it inserted the rest of its hand onto the field.

"Activate Spells: Mage Power, Mage Power, Shooting Star Bow – Ceal, Axe of Despair. Set one card face down," it said, and soon, the effects of these cards were clear. While a brown backed card appeared behind the cloaked man, he reached into his bag, pulling out both a large axe as well as a thin bow. Meanwhile, he seemed to almost triple in size, his smirk widening as he increased in strength. (4/500 + 1000 – 1000 + 2500 + 2500 = 5500/800 + 2500 + 2500 = 5800)

Yugi frowned at the change in the monster's stats. "Well that's a pretty powerful opening move. Shooting Star Bow – Ceal means the equipped monster can attack directly, but reduces its attack by 1000. But Axe of Despair cancels that out. And then the two copies of Mage power each give Ben Kei an extra 500 attack points for every spell or trap that the bot has. So, that's 2500 points apiece."

Kaiba chuckled. "Not only that, but Ben Kei gains an additional attack for every equip spell equipped to it. And with four cards attached, that's five attacks each turn. Perhaps I made the bot too tough on the mutt." But as he looked over to Joey, he could tell that the formidable opening movie hadn't deterred the blonde man in the slightest. If anything, he looked even more determined to decimate the robot.

The second Joey had drawn his card, the brown-backed card on the Duel Bot's field flipped up. "Activate Trap: Fake Friendship Treaty."

Joey chuckled in response. "Ah, that's a pretty good card. If it's on the field, I can't summon Level 4 or lower monsters. It comes with conditions for what destroys it, but I don't really care. Because I'll just activate Giant Trunade to return all Spells and Traps to their owner's hand!" As he spoke, a strong gust struck the field. The weapons flew out the man's hand, and he was reduced back to his normal size. On the bot's screen, five brown-backed cards appeared, leaving Ben Kei with absolutely no defence.

Joey showed no signs of slowing down, sliding another card into his duel disk. "And next up is the spell card known as Red-Eyes Fusion, which allows me to send monsters from my hand or deck to the graveyard to Fusion Summon a monster that lists a Red-Eyes monster as fusion material. And I'll be sending Red-Eyes Black Dragon (7/2400/2000) and Summoned Skull (6/2500/1200) from the deck to the graveyard!"

Yugi's eyes widened. "He's bringing out Black Skull Dragon on his opening turn?!" But he was surprised when the result was not the familiar monster he and Joey had used back in the days of Duelist Kingdom. No, this was a monster he had never seen before. Fire surrounded the demon as it spread its wings to let out a mighty roar. It was enormous, easily dwarfing Ben Kei.

Joey grinned. "This here is my Archfiend Black Skull Dragon (9/3200/2500) and he's just ready to tear you apart. But first, a few more cards to play. You see, the monster summoned by Red-Eyes Fusion has its name treated as Red-Eyes Black Dragon while it's on the field, so now I can play my Inferno Fire Blast to deal you damage equal to my monster's original attack points, which is a whopping 3200!" As soon as he had inserted the spell card, the dragon let out a ferocious roar, which shot a fireball at the bot. The result was a massive explosion, and Yugi had to wonder that if Joey had been duelist a normal human, what they would have looked like after the blast.

(Joey: 8000, Duel Bot: 4800)

Joey showed no signs of slowing down as he added another card into the mix. "My monster can't attack the turn Inferno Fire Blast is used, but that's easily remedied. I activate Star Blast! Now I pay life points in multiples of 500, and for each 500 paid, I can reduce the level of a monster I control or that's in my hand by one! So, I'll pay that price five times to make my monster a level 4!"

As a red aura surrounded the man, draining his life points, the dragon shrank, though its reduce in size seemed to do nothing in making the monster less intimidating. (9 – 5 = 4/3200/2500)

(Joey: 5500, Duel Bot: 4800)

Joey smirked as he added another card in his strategy. "And now I'll set the final piece with my Quick Rush! This card comes with a few effects, but I already know what one I want. By choosing a level 4 or lower monster I control, I can make it do battle with one of yours, regardless of restrictions! Now Archfiend, incinerate old Ben Kei!"

"Well…it would appear Wheeler's actually learned how to duel," Kaiba muttered, as immediately, the dragon roared again, and launched forward at the warrior. It was clear from the get go who the winner was, and suspicions were only confirmed once the smoke had cleared, with only the dragon still present.

(Joey: 5500, Duel Bot: 2100)

Joey clenched his fist. "And now for the grand finale. I enter my battle phase!"

Yugi raised his eyebrows questionably. "Why would he do that? Sure, Quick Rush allowed him to get in an extra hit, but his monster still can't attack."

Joey laughed out loud as he heard Yugi. "Right you are, Yuge, but the plan never was for my monster to attack again. In fact, I've already done everything I needed to do to assure my monster was ready to end this. See, my dragon comes with a few effects, but only one of them is needed here. During the end of the Battle Phase in a turn in which damage calculation was performed involving this Fusion Summoned card, I can shuffle one 'Red-Eyes' Normal monster in my Graveyard back into my Deck and deal my opponent damage equal to the returned monster's attack. So, now I'll just end my Battle Phase and shuffle my Red-Eyes Black Dragon to hit the tin can with 2400 points of damage, which will end this!" As he spoke, the spirit of his most loyal monster appeared next to his other dragon. A roar from the bigger dragon was all that was needed for Red-Eyes to fly directly into the robot, hitting it hard and ending the relatively short duel.

(Joey: 5500, Duel Bot: 0000)

As the holograms disappeared, Joey turned to face his audience, smirking at Kaiba. "Now, rich boy, is that the best your hunk of junk can do or are you gonna give me a real challenge?"

Kaiba said nothing for a few moments, then turned to face Yugi. Before he could even speak, the King of Games had already interrupted him.

"Go ahead, I know both of you really don't want to let a comment like that go." With the confirmation from his rival all he really needed, Kaiba spoke. "Duel Bot, activate Creator Mode."

Suddenly, the machine lit up again. It made random noises, seemingly carrying out whatever orders Kaiba had given it. Soon enough, it spoke in the automated voice, revealing what exactly Creator Mode was. "Simulation has begun. Beginning Creator Mode, using the deck of Maximillion Pegasus."

Joey was briefly shocked, but then looked over to the CEO. "So, your little invention had Pegasus's deck, does it?"

Kaiba let out a derisive snort. "It's much more sophisticated than that Wheeler. That machine has every card in the game programmed into it, save a select few. You want an opponent? The machine will give it to you."

Joey shrugged. "Well, a duel's a duel." Turning to the machine, he reactivated his duel disk. "Alright you bag of bolts, let's see what you've got when using a better deck!"

(Joey: 8000, Duel Bot: 8000)

Joey snapped the top card of his duel disk, adding it to is hand. "I think it's only fair that I start this one, don't you?" he asked, as he looked over all the options he had at his disposal. Smiling as he decided on his course of action, he inserted a spell card into his duel disk. "I activate Dark Dragon Ritual! This allows me to sacrifice my Red-Eyes Wyvern (4/1800/1600) to Ritual Summon my Paladin of Dark Dragon (4/1900/1200)!"

Black flames covered the field as a small dragon appeared. Soon, the flames had enveloped the dragon, leaving nothing behind in its devastation. Once the smoke had settled, a new monster stood. It was a man sheathed in black armour, his tattered cape flowing behind him. He swirled the sword in his hand, a menacing grin evident on his face. However, suddenly, he disappeared in another explosion. Through the flames, Joey's voice could be heard. "I can tribute my Paladin to Special Summon any Red-Eyes monster from my deck. And I'll choose my Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon (10/2800/2400)!"

From the flames emerged another new card. Encased in metal, it reminded Kaiba of the monster Joey had summoned in their tag duel. Letting out a mighty roar that seemed to make the building shake, it towered over its master. Joey continued, slapping another card onto his duel disk. "And that's not all! My dragon, once per turn, can Special Summon a Dragon from either my hand or my Graveyard! And I'll choose the good old original, Red-Eyes Black Dragon (7/2400/2000)!" he yelled out as the metallic dragon was joined by his signature card.

Two brown-backed cards appeared behind the two monsters. "And I'll end my turn with a couple of face-downs."

On the side-lines, Kaiba had to admit he was impressed. "Well, it only took him about five years, but the idiot finally learned how to bring out the big guns quick. The only downside is he exhausted all his resources."

At that moment, Yugi spoke. "I know Joey enough to know that if he felt it was worth depleting his hand, then it was worth it. Those face-downs are probably incredibly useful.

"Draw card," came the familiar voice of the Duel Bot. Almost immediately, it continued, a spell depicting an open pop-up book appearing on the field, "Activate Spell: Toon World."

"Oh, great." Joey muttered, but it was all for naught as the key card of Pegasus's deck hit the field. It came at a price, but the three people there all knew it was well worth paying.

(Joey: 8000, Duel Bot: 7000)

"Special Summon: Toon Cyber Dragon. Activate Spell: Comic Hand," rang out the familiar voice again, and suddenly everything seemed to change. Before them appeared a cartoon version of the monster Umbra had used before (5/21000/1600). Then, from the second spell, an outstretched hand appeared and grabbed onto Joey's metallic dragon, taking it to the other side of the field, under the bot's control.

Joey was not pleased. "Hey, what's the big idea here? I get how you got your Cyber Dragon out, but why did my monster suddenly feel like switching to your side?!"

The automated voice spoke. "Comic Hand's effect allows the user to take control of one of the opponent's monsters as they control Toon World. The monster equipped with Comic Hand may attack the opponent directly if the opponent does not control a Toon Monster. Direct Attack: Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon."

Joey barely had a moment to take in what he had just been told before he was enveloped by the metallic dragon's black flame.

(Joey: 5200, Duel Bot: 7000)

Joey was breathing hard as the attack subsided, but it was clear the robot was far from done.

"Enter Main Phase 2. Sacrifice Toon Cyber Dragon and Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon. Tribute Summon: Red-Eyes Toon Dragon (7/2400/2000)."

Joey's eyes threatened to pop out of his skull as one of the most embarrassing sights he had ever witnessed graced the field. It was his signature card, only it was a cartoon. It was no longer threatening, an innocent look on its big red eyes as it opened its mouth in a youthful smile. Joey didn't even have time to voice his disgust as the robot spoke again. "Activate ability. Once per turn, Red-Eyes Toon Dragon permits the user to Special Summon a Toon monster from the hand. Special Summon: Toon Dark Magician (7/2500/2100)."

This time, it was Yugi's turn to growl in annoyance as the playful version of his favourite monster appeared. It twirled its staff, letting out a childish chant. It was only as the last card in the bot's hand disappeared that the duelists realised the chant had a purpose. "Activate Special Effect. By discarding a card, Toon Dark Magician allows its user to Special Summon one Toon monster from the deck, ignoring any summoning conditions. Discard: Manga Ryu-Ran (7/2200/2600). Special Summon: Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon (8/3000/2500)." This time, it was Kaiba's ace that was exposed to the cartoon treatment. Though they had seen Pegasus use the monster before, it still drew an irritable grunt from the CEO.

Joey frowned as he examined the formidable field the robot had formed, but still drew with eagerness. "Since your hand is empty, I guess it's my go. Draw," As he smiled at the card he had just received, he tapped a button on his duel disk, revealing one of his face-downs. "I activate Graverobber! This handy little trap allows me to steal one of the cards in your Graveyard and use it as my own. And I can think of nothing better than Comic Hand!"

From the trap emerged the same hand that has earlier taken Joey's metallic dragon. This time, it seized the tiny blue dragon and brought it over to Joey's field. Ignoring the obvious anger Kaiba had at seeing Joey utilise a Blue-Eyes monster, the blonde duelist continued. "Time to battle! I have to pay 500 life points in order to ensure my attack gets through, but it's worth it in order to take out your field. Blue-Eyes, attack Toon Dark Magician."

The animated version of Kaiba's ace launched itself at the small magician that resembled Yugi's most loyal monster. Soon, only one of them remained, as the dragon returned to Joey's side of the field.

(Joey: 4700, Duel Bot: 6500)

Joey gestured to his other monster next. "And next I'll send my Red-Eyes to destroy the imitation!" Letting out a mighty roar, the black dragon launched a fireball at the same time its animated copy did. Both monsters were incinerated, leaving only the blue dragon on the field. Joey, however, pressed another button on his duel disk, revealing the second face-down: Silver's Cry. Joey didn't even have to say anything as his Red-Eyes came back to the field and immediately shot another fireball, hitting the robot straight on.

(Joey: 4700, Duel Bot: 4100)

Joey grinned at how he had reclaimed the lead. "I'll let you go now, try to keep up."

Yugi smiled as he took in the situation. "That was a really impressive move. He was facing a field of three powerful monsters, and managed to take it all down with just three cards. Not only that, but he took the lead." He looked in admiration to his friend, who had grown immensely stronger since their Duelist Kingdom days.

The bot drew its card, immediately using it. "Activate Spell: Pot of Greed. Two cards are drawn," rang out the voice, and as two cards were added to its hand one of them was played straight away. "Normal Summon Sonic Bird (4/1400/1100). Activate effect, add Black Illusion Ritual from deck to hand." Joey didn't even get a good look at the monster as it suddenly disappeared in a blue flame. "Activate Spell: Black Illusion Ritual. Sacrifice Sonic Bird. Special Summon: Relinquished. (1/0/0)"

From the blue flame emerged one of Pegasus's most powerful monsters. It was grotesque, and its power was obvious as it seized the Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon, growing in power (1/0 + 3000 = 3000/0 + 2500 = 2500). It immediately charged forward, slamming into the Red-Eyes duelist's ace monster.

(Joey: 4100, Duel Bot: 4100)

Joey grinned, slamming a card from his hand onto the duel disk. "I activate the effect of the Red-Eyes Retro Dragon (4/1700/1600) in my hand. When a level 7 or lower Red-Eyes monster is destroyed by an opponent's attack, I can summon this little dude in defence mode, and revive the destroyed monster in the position he left the field. Red-Eyes, come on back!"

Alongside a smaller dragon reappeared the dragon that had maintained a presence on the field since the first turn. The bot indicated the end of its turn. Drawing a card, Joey smiled at the sight of it, and immediately placed it in his disk.

"I activate the effect of my Black Metal Dragon (1/600/600)! I can equip him from my hand to any Red-Eyes monster and give it a 600 boost. Any guesses on who?"

There was no need for anyone to offer their thoughts on which monster would be equipped, for the small black dragon appeared anyway. Climbing on top of Red-Eyes Black Dragon, it gave off another roar (7/2400 + 600 = 3000/2000). At Joey's command the bigger dragon launched forth, both it and the small metallic dragon letting out a mighty roar. Once it collided with Relinquished, there was a huge explosion. Once the smoke cleared, only Relinquished remain, and it has lost all its power from the cartoon beast (1/3000 – 3000 = 0/2500 – 2500 = 0).

Joey smirked at the new development, retrieving a card from the deck. "Oh, and when my Black Metal Dragon is sent to the graveyard, I can retrieve my Red-Eyes card from my deck, like my Red-Eyes Spirit. Now, Retro, attack and destroy that Relinquished." And with that, the smaller dragon struck the Ritual monster, leaving the duel bot's field barren except for Toon World.

(Joey: 4100, Duel Bot: 2400)

Joey smirked, a brown-backed card appearing before him. "I'll end my turn with a face-down. And now I activate the effect of my Red-Eyes Wyvern! Since I didn't Normal Summon this turn, I can banish him from the grave to Special Summon a Red-Eyes back to the field. And I choose my Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!" Appearing in front of Joey was the familiar dragon that he had begun the game with (10/2800/2400).

Drawing its next card, the only card in its hand, the duel bot let only a second pass before the card was played. "Activate Spell: Card of Demise: Cards are drawn until there are five cards in the hand. On the 5th Standby Phase after activation, cards are discarded." Because of its now empty hands, the full five were drawn, Joey tossing a glare over to Kaiba. "What's the big deal here? I never saw Pegasus use this card."

The CEO shrugged in response. "I made some adjustments so the deck could get better. Big whoop."

As it surveyed the cards in its hand, the robot waited for a while before playing the next card. "Activate Spell: Monster Reborn. Relinquished is revived." Again, appeared the monster, this time absorbing, to the surprise of both Joey and the spectators, the smaller dragon. (1/0 + 1700 = 1700/0 + 1600 = 1600)

Joey was certainly befuddled. "Ok, why would you take my smaller mon-" But he was cut off as the colour drained from his face, for the robot had revealed two cards; Polymerisation and Thousand-Eyes Idol. "Fusion Summon: Thousand-Eyes Restrict." And appearing alongside the Ritual Monster was a small green monster covered in eyes. Soon, both disappeared into a vortex, and was emerged was truly grotesque. It looked like a disease that had come to life, and before anyone could even blink, it had captured Joey's remaining monster (1/2800/2400). A brown-backed card appeared alongside Toon World, and then the monster moved towards Joey.

The blonde man eyed his face-down, "I could bring back Red-Eyes…. but he'd just be lamb to a slaughter. I won't treat him like that." And then the monster hit him in the chest, making him stumble as his life points fell.

(Joey: 1300, Duel Bot: 2400)

Realising it was his turn, Joey panted heavily. "Is that the best you can do then?" Drawing his card, he smiled as he pressed the button on his duel disk to activate his face-down. "I'm gonna use my Red-Eyes Spirit to bring back my old friend Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" As soon as the dragon graced the field again, however, it disappeared. "But I'll sacrifice him so that I can summon my Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon (9/2400/2000)."

Joey smirked as his monster grew in strength (9/2400 + 1200 = 3600/2000). "My dragon gains 300 attack points for every single dragon hanging about in my Graveyard. And I got four there for a boost of 1200! I know that because of your monster, I can't attack but got backup plans! I activate the effect of the Dark Dragon Ritual in my Graveyard. By banishing it, I can add a Red-Eyes Spell or Trap to my hand. Like my Red-Eyes insight, which immediately gets played! By sending a Red-Eyes monster to my graveyard, like my Meteor Dragon Red-Eyes Impact (6/1800/2000), I can add another Red-Eyes card from the deck to my hand, like Red-Eyes Fusion (9/3600 + 300 = 3900/2000)! And I'll end it there!" Fetching the appropriate card from his deck, he smiled. _'Almost there, no way it can handle a double-team.'_

Another card drawn, the robot revealed its face-down. "Trap card activate: Courageous Heart. At the cost of half its user's life points, a monster's effect is negated. Target is Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon."

(Joey: 1300, Duel Bot: 1200)

The dragon groaned as it lost power, powering down (9/3900 – 1500 = 2400/2000). The abomination immediately charged at it, destroying it with relative ease.

(Joey: 900, Duel Bot: 1200)

A brown-backed card appeared on the robot's side again. "End turn." And the moment Joey drew, the card was revealed. "Activate Trap: Mind Crush. A card name is declared. If it is in the opponent's hand, the card must be discarded. Declared card is Red-Eyes Fusion."

Joey frowned as he discarded the card, one he had very much hoped to use. However, then his eyes fell on the card he had just drawn, and he did the only sensible thing.

He burst into laughter.

Kaiba raises his eyebrows from the sidelines. "Oh lovely…. he's lost his mind." Yugi, on the other hand, knew that kind of laugh. It always came about when Joey had just gotten extremely lucky. Speaking quietly, it was a miracle the CEO heard him. "He's about to win."

Joey shouted over to the bot. "Credit where it's due, that was a pretty smart move. You took out my way to Fusion Summon the big guns. But, through sheer luck, I've managed to pull out the win. Because you may have stopped one fusion, but you won't stop this one. Go, Dragon's Mirror! This allows me to banish monsters from my field OR my graveyard so that I can Fusion Summon a Dragon-Type monster. So now I'll banish my Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Meteor Dragon Red-Eyes Impact to summon the monster that will end this duel!"

Joey's ace appeared alongside another monster. Like the name suggested, it moved as fast as a meteor, so no one could get a good look at it before it and Red-Eyes vanished into a vortex. When the product of the fusion emerged, even Kaiba was shocked.

It was enormous. It dwarfed everything, and if they weren't just simple holograms, it was almost certain the dragon would have crashed through the ceiling. But the monster's size wasn't the most jarring thing. What surprised everyone except Joey was that the dragon was on fire. Every part of it was covered in flames. Shooting high above the duelists, it heated up as it let out a mighty roar (8/3500/2000).

Joey smirked. "Meet my Meteor Black Comet Dragon. You could say this guy, along with my Archfiend Black Skull Dragon, are the strongest I can offer. But I'll just cut straight to the chase here and talk about his effect. See, upon his Fusion Summon, I can send one Red-Eyes monster from the deck to the graveyard, and deal damage to you equal to half the monster's attack. And since I feel like getting you to exactly zero, my Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon (7/2400/2000) is the perfection option. Meteor Black Comet Dragon, end this with Flame Shower!"

If the monster had been on fire now, it had just combusted. It almost felt like actual heat was being given off by the monster. Aiming at its target, it soared down to the ground. Past the grotesque Fusion it flew, and instead aimed straight for the robot. It landed, and the explosion sent both Yugi and Kaiba to their knees. Once the smoke cleared, only one person was still standing, and the result was clear.

(Joey: 900, Duel Bot: 0)

Joey was grinning as he walked back to his friends, and wow did it feel weird to regard Kaiba as a friend. "Hope I didn't go in too hard there, wouldn't want to have broken your machine."

Kaiba let out a derisive snort. "Don't oversell yourself, Wheeler. I can admit you've improved, but as far as I'm concerned, you're still the worst duelist in the room." Looking over to Yugi, he rolled his eyes. "Alright, Yugi, who do you want to face? I've got pretty much anyone."

Yugi grinned, moving over to the machine, scanning for who he wanted. Once he had found the desired opponent, he smirked. Moving over to the opposite side of the field, he activated his duel disk as the duel bot began the simulation. "You'll see soon enough, won't you?" Drawing the first five cards, he let his yell fill the sky.

"LET'S DUEL!"

(Yugi: 8000, Duel Bot: 8000)

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

While Yugi began his duel with the robot, a much more sinister duelist was making his movement. He smirked as he called out his monster to attack. "Winged Dragon of Ra, obliterate the rest of his life point's!"

As impressive as the Five-Headed Dragon (12/5000/5000) was, it did absolutely nothing to stand up to the might of a god card. All the duelist could feel as he faded away was how ashamed he was to have failed, and to have been discarded so easily.

(Marik: 8000, Duel Academy Student: 0)

Marik growled. "Pathetic, I didn't even have to use any of Ra's abilities. You could have been beaten by a starter deck." But he moved to what had been left behind, an oddly shaped key. Moving over to an odd podium, he inserted the key into the final slot, having already placed in the other six. Immediately, the podium opened, revealing three cards. Looking at them with disinterest, Marik scoffed.

"So, these are the three Sacred Beasts? Keh, they are all cheap imitations of the Egyptian Gods. But they do, however, serve a purpose." And he smirked as the purpose in question arrived. The man was frail, having been refined to a wheelchair. However, despite this apparent weakness, he spoke with a powerful tone, anger clear in his voice. "Who are you, and what have you done?"

Marik chuckled darkly, holding the three cards in his hand. "I am the man who got you wanted, Kagemaru." His smirk turned into a sickly grin. "And now let's talk about how exactly you're going to pay me back for that favour."


	8. Closure

**Chapter 8 – Closure**

**I'm actually quite proud with this chapter. Even used YGOPro to help with scripting the duel. Without further ado, enjoy!**

"Draw," came the voice of the robot, beginning its duel with Yugi. "Activate Spell Card: Guarded Treasure. 5 cards are discarded and two cards are drawn. Additionally, an extra card may be drawn during each draw phase." Discarding its hand, it drew two new cards, setting both a monster and another face-down. Then, the light flashed to indicate and end its turn.

On the sidelines, Kaiba had a puzzled look on his face. "I can remember that spell…but where did I see it used?"

Joey, on the other hand, had a different question in mind. "Why would you ditch your whole hand to the grave like that? Just turns your strategy into topdecking."

Yugi, on the other hand grinned as he drew his sixth card. _'Amazing, the robot plays it exactly like him. Well, let's go.' _He examined his hand before inserting a spell card. "I activate the card known as Polymerisation! I use it to fuse my Gazelle, King of Mythical Beasts (4/1500/1200) and my Berfomet (5/1400/1800) into my Chimera, the Flying Mythical Beast (6/2100/1800)!"

Above Yugi appeared a vortex. Two beasts disappeared into it and from the portal emerged a powerful monster. With two heads, its roar was doubly powerful as it spreads its wings to charge at the face-down monster. But even with all its might, it wasn't enough to overcome the new foe, a large blue beast with flowing red hair (4/500/2200).

(Yugi: 7900, Duel Bot: 8000)

Yugi shrugged, placing a card face-down. "I figured it'd be Backup Gardna, but I had to try. I'll end my turn with a face-down. You're up."

Per the effect of its spell, the duel bot drew two cards. Immediately, it played one of them. "Activate: Guardian Axe – Grarl. The equipped monster gains 500 attack points. Additionally, the opponent cannot switch the position of their monsters."

An axe appeared before the blue beast, and it grabbed it quickly, a malevolent grin appearing on its face (4/500 + 500 = 1000/2200)

At the sidelines, Joey raised his eyebrows. "This is the deck that Rafael guy used! But why's Yugi dueling him?" But Kaiba _knew_. He knew exactly how his rival thought by now. He already had the answer. "Because Yugi never beat him. He wasn't even in his body during that duel, he had lost his soul to the Orichalcos. That was just the Pharaoh. This getting some closure."

Yugi nodded from the side. "I tried to find Rafael to ask for a rematch, but I got nothing. I asked both Alister and Valon, and they just told me he was out looking for something. They didn't say what that something was, but it seemed like a big deal." Looking over to the robot playing the Guardian deck, he grinned, raising his duel disk. "So, I'll settle for fighting his deck."

The solitary card in the robot's hand was played. "Since Gravity Axe – Grarl is on the field, and it is the only card in my hand, Guardian Grarl (5/2500/1000) may be Special Summoned."

Descending from the sky was a monster that looked half-human, half dinosaur. Almost immediately, it took the axe from the blue beast, grinning as it twirled it in its hand (4/1000 – 500 = 500/2200) (5/2500 + 500 = 3000/1000).

Kaiba frowned. "Of course, Backup Gardna has the ability to transfer equip spells between his monsters. And since the Guardians can only be summoned when the equip card are on the field, it works perfectly for making sure the monsters end up with their weapons." As he spoke, the dinosaur launched forth and slashed at Yugi's monster, cutting off both heads.

(Yugi: 7000, Duel Bot: 8000)

Yugi smiled, pressing a button on his duel disk. "Thanks for that. When Chimera is destroyed, I get to bring back one of his materials. So Berfomet (5/1400/1800) comes back. And since my monster was destroyed, I can use Soul Rope! At the cost of a thousand life points…."

(Yugi: 6000, Duel Bot: 8000)

"I can Special Summon my Gamma, the Magnet Warrior (4/1500/1800)!" As he finished speaking, two monsters appeared. One was one of the feral beasts used to summon Chimera, while the other was a small pink monster with an S on its chest and a magnet wrapped around its neck. Realising it could do no more, the machine ended its turn.

Drawing, Yugi smiled at his card, sliding it into his duel disk. "I activate Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two cards from my deck." Sliding the top two cards off his deck, he grinned as he looked at them. Moving two cards from his hand to the graveyard, his pink monster vanished. "By tributing the Gamma, The Magnet Warrior, along with his friends Alpha (4/1400/1700) and Beta (4/1700/1600), I get to bring out their ultimate form. Rise, Valkyrion, the Magnet Warrior (8/3500/3850)!"

Where the pink machine had one stood was now a mighty power. Coloured pink, silver, and yellow, the monster stood strong. As its master shouted out an order, it launched at the dinosaur, determined to beat it down.

"Reverse card, open," came the automated voice. "At the cost of 1000 life points, Self Tribute will prevent the monster's destruction in battle." The warrior make the dinosaur fall to its need, but it still pulled itself backup, albeit a little wounded.

(Yugi: 6000, Duel Bot: 6500)

Yugi frowned, placing a card face-down behind his Valkyrion. "I'll end my turn here."

Again, two cards were drawn, and the bot wasted no time in using one of them. "Activate Shooting Star Bow – Ceal. The equipped monster loses 1000 attack points, but gains the ability to attack directly. Then, Normal Summon: Guardian Ceal (4/1700/1400)." The blue beast picked up the box, and readied an arrow (4/500 – 1000 = 0/2200) before tossing it over to the new arrival, a monster that Yugi couldn't even hope to identify (4/0 + 500 = 500/2200) (4/1700 – 1000 = 700/1400).

"Activate monster effect of Guardian Ceal. At the cost of an Equip Spell equipped to Ceal, an opponent's monster is destroyed." Ceal aimed its arrow, but then changed. It crushed the bow in its hand and joined it with the arrow, suddenly causing it to burst into flames (4/700 + 1000 = 1700/1400). It threw the arrow at Valkyrion, obliterating it on the spot. The powerful dinosaur, slammed into Berfomet, reducing the creature to pixels. Then Ceal charged straight at Yugi, who smiled as he revealed his face-down.

"I activate Magnet Reverse. This lets me choose a Machine or Rock type monster that can't be Normal Summoned or Set, and Special Summon it. Come back, Valkyrion!"

In front of Ceal arose the might magnetic fighter thought dead. Knowing it didn't stand a chance, Ceal halted its attack, and the robot ended its turn too.

Yugi drew his card cautiously at first, taking a moment to glance at the field before he examined his hand. _'He doesn't have any cards face-down, so my attacks should definitely hand. But I don't even know who to hit. Grarl just needs a slight powerup, but Ceal can destroy Valkyrion easily, and Backup Gardna provide him a very powerful strategy.' _However, his eyes then found what was in his hand, and he smirked. "Since this card is the only card in my hand, I can Normal Summon it without a tribute! Meet Swift Gaia, The Fierce Knight (7/2300/2100)!"

A knight riding a purple horse rode onto the field. Aiming its lances at the duel bot's field, it awaited orders, which came immediately as Yugi extended his hand. "Swift Gaia, attack his Backup Gardna!" The knight and his horse charged towards the blue beast, but were stopped short as a barrier came across the field.

"Activate Graveyard Effect: Rescuer From The Grave. By banishing five cards from the Graveyard, the attack is negated and the Battle Phase ends. Banish: Self Tribute, Rod of the Mind's Eye, My Body as a Shield, Monster Reincarnation, Wicked Breaking Flamberge – Baou."

The barrier subsided, and Yugi cursed himself in anger. "I end my turn."

The robot had barely added the two cards to the start of its hand before it made its move. "Activate Spell: Butterfly Dagger – Elma. The equipped monster gains 300 attack points." From the heavens descended a small dagger, which the blue beast immediately seized. (4/500 – 800/2200)

The next card was placed on the field, as a young woman with short red hair suddenly appeared. She moved to the beast, who simply handed it to her. She gave it a small smile, but when she looked at Yugi, he could only see anger. "Normal Summon: Guardian Elma (3/1300 + 300 = 1600/1200) (4/800 – 300 = 500/2200). Upon summoning, an equip spell from the graveyard is equipped to Elma. Return, Shooting Star Bow – Ceal. And Backup Gardna's effect is used."

The young woman punched into the ground, causing a hole to open in it. From the hole shout out the bow from before, which she grabbed (3/1600 – 1000 = 600/1200). She then tossed it to the beast, who passed it on to Ceal (3/600 + 1000 = 1600/1200) (4/1700/700). Yugi suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu as again the bow was discarded in favour of powering the arrow. And then the arrow was throw to Valkyrion, who fell in the same way it had before, leaving only Gaia and his steed to defend Yugi. This was changed quickly as Grarl obeyed the commands of the robot, slicing down the knight without a second thought.

(Yugi: 5300, Duel Bot: 6500)

There was a brief pause as Elma and Ceal looked at each other. Then as one they charged on. First Elma slashed her dagger, forcing Yugi to use his duel disk as a shield to defend himself from the attack. Then Ceal slammed into the King of Games, knocking him down onto his back.

(Yugi: 2000, Duel Bot: 6500)

Yugi pulled himself up from the ground, breathing hard as he surveyed the field. He'd have to remember to give grief to Kaiba for increasing how much damage the holograms could do. He looked down at the top of his deck. He smiled as he remembered the situations like these. Facing down an entire army of his opponent's monsters, armed with only his next draw. Yami had never gave up in all that time, he had just put his faith in his deck. And like his friend had always done, like he continued to do, Yugi merely had one thought. _'Heart of the cards….guide me.'_ Drawing his next card, he grinned. "I'm not the biggest fan of this considering it gives you resources too, but I don't really see many other options for me. I activate Card of Sanctity, meaning we both draw until we hold six cards!" And so, they drew. Now, will a full hand of options, Yugi felt much more confident in his ability to come back from this. "I activate the Spell Card known as Fiend's Sanctuary! This allows me to summon a Metal Fiend Token (1/0/0) to my side of the field." A small silver assortment of metal balls appeared on the field. It was quickly joined by something else, however; Gaia. The knight and his horse were back (7/2300/2100). Yugi's voice could be heard over the horse's galloping. "And Gaia is back because of my Monster Reborn!"

Suddenly the small metal monster disappeared, allowing a new monster to appear on the field. It was a dragon that bore similar design to another monster used by Yugi, but there was something different. Joey even took note of it. "That looks like Yuge's Curse of Dragon, but something's different…" he trailed off, unsure of what was going on.

Yugi, however, seemed to have no issue with the current unfolding situation. "This is my Curse of Dragonfire (5/2000/1500)! Think of him as an upgrade from my normal Curse for Dragon. For example, while my Curse of Dragon is a Normal Monster, this guy comes with an effect, and it's a pretty good one at that! I can fuse him with other monsters on my field for a fusion summon. And I think he'd go brilliantly with my Swift Gaia, The Fierce Knight!"

Suddenly, the horse disappeared as the warrior jumped off him. When Gaia landed, he was now on the dragon. It looked like the dragon and its rider were destined to fight together, as the beast and the man both focused all attention on the enemies in front of them.

"This is my Sky Galloping Gaia, the Dragon Champion (7/2600/2100)! And when he comes out, I can fetch a Spiral Spear Strike from my deck!" Finding the card, almost immediately, Yugi played it as soon as it was in his hand. "Spiral Spear Strike allows my monster to deal piercing damage if its name is either Gaia the Fierce Knight, Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight, or Gaia The Dragon Champion. And luckily, thanks to my monster's effect, he gets treated as Gaia the Dragon Champion! So, he's fair game. First, I'll throw a face down, and then Sky Galloping Gaia can attack Guardian Grarl. And you should know that when my Gaia attacks one of your monsters, I can switch its position. And with just 1000 defense points to Grarl's name, this shouldn't be an issue!"

As the warrior flew at the dinosaur, the dragon let out a giant roar, which forced Grarl to his knees. Grarl barely had time to comprehend this new development before he found himself skewered upon Gaia's lance.

(Yugi: 2000, Duel Bot: 4900)

Yugi grinned, happy to have been able to close the gap a little. "And that's not all. Since I did some damage via the effect of my Spiral Spear Strike, I get to draw 2 cards and discard 1!" Adding the cards to his hand, he smiled as he selected the card to put in his Graveyard. However, before he could make his next move, a card appeared on the field. "What the…"

"Aid to the Doomed can be activated from the hand during an opponent's turn when a monster is destroyed in battle," came the automatic voice. "By discarding two cards from the hand, the battle phase is ended."

Yugi frowned, but said nothing more as the Duel Bot began its turn. It made no noise as it repeated old moves. It transferred the power of the Butterfly Dagger from Elma to Ceal (3/1600 – 300 = 1300/1200) (4/1700 + 300 = 2000/1400). Then Ceal repeated its ability, wiping out the dragon champion as if it was nothing (4/2000 – 300 = 1700/1400). After the field was clear, Elma launched forward, punching Yugi in the gut.

(Yugi: 700, Duel Bot: 4900)

But as Ceal charged towards Yugi, with every intention of ending the battle once and for all, Yugi pushed a button on his duel disk, revealing his face-down. Soon, Ceal was rooted to the spot. When it looked down for the cause, it saw it was stuck in a strange circle. "My Spellbinding Circle prevents your monster from attacking or changing its battle position! So it looks like I'm still in this!"

Having no moves left to make, the bot ended its turn, passing it back to Yugi, who drew his card with a sense of vigour. "I'm not giving up yet. I still have cards to draw and plays to make. And I'll make my next move with my Noble Arms of Celtic Guard (4/2100/700), who upon his summoning allows me to summon another Celtic Guard monster, like my Obnoxious Celtic Guard (4/1400/1200)!" Two warriors appeared, one looking much older. As the younger fighter held onto his sword, his older counterpart twirled the two swords in his hand with expertise. Suddenly, a storm appeared, obliterating the robot's spell that had covered the field since the opening turn. "And that'll be Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Guardian Treasure!"

From the sidelines, Kaiba grinned. "Only Yugi could come back from the jaws of defeat like this."

Yugi clearly wasn't done. "Obviously with such a high attack, my Noble Arms can only attack if I have no cards in my hand, but by setting this card, everything's good for my monster to attack Elma!" As the brown-backed card appeared behind Yugi's monster before the older swordsman launched forth at the young woman. But he was stopped in his tracks as the familiar voice of the duel bot rang out. "Activate Effect: Rescuer from the Grave. Banish: Rod of Silence – Kayest, Hidden Armory, Aid to the Doomed, Guardian Treasure, Rescuer from the Grave. Battle Phase is ended."

Yugi frowned, eyeing his face-down. "I end my turn."

Due to the destruction of its spell, the robot with Rafael's deck drew a single card this time. "Activate Soul Release. Up to five cards in the graveyard are removed from play." As Yugi's graveyard appeared for everyone to see, Joey and Kaiba gasped.

"Electromagnetic Turtle (4/0/1800?" Joey asked. "When the hell did that even get in there?"

Kaiba's shock had subsided, as his lips instead curved into a smirk. "He discarded it with Spiral Spear Strike. He's always thinking ahead." It felt good to see his rival at his best, the skill was truly outstanding.

The automated voice interrupted any more thoughts. "Banish: Mystical Space Typhoon, Electromagnetic Turtle." The two cards flew out of Yugi's graveyard, as the young man caught them and pocketed them.

The robot moved again. "Activate: Arms Regeneration. One Equip Spell in the graveyard is equipped to an appropriate target. Gravity Axe – Grarl is equipped to Backup Gardna. Activate: Soul Charge. Any number of monsters are Special Summoned from the Graveyard. They cannot attack or be Tributed this turn. 500 life points is paid as a cost per monster. Guardian Grarl (6/2500/1000) returns."

(Yugi: 700, Duel Bot: 4400)

It all happened at once. The axe and its accommodating monster were both on the field in a flash. As was expected, the blue beast first got the axe before tossing it to the dinosaur (6/2500 + 500 = 3000/1000). The duel bot then slid another card onto the field. "Activate: Celestial Sword Eatos. The equipped monster gains 300 attack points. Since the sword is on the field and no monsters are in the graveyard, Guardian Eatos (8/2500/2000) is Special Summoned."

Again, the weapon appeared before its holder. From the heavens came the sword, dropping in Gardna's hand. Then, a beautiful woman landed on the field. She took the sword, smiling as she did so (8/2500 + 300 = 2800/2000). Then the voice spoke again. "Eatos's effect activates. By sending the Celestial Sword to the graveyard, monsters in the opponent's graveyard are removed from play until the top card of the Graveyard is either a Spell/Trap card, or a monster with zero attack."

Kaiba gasped. "That's why it used Soul Release! He needed to maximise the damage that Eatos could do so that it would win the game!" But there was no stopping it now. The woman threw the sword away, slamming it into the ground near Yugi (8/2800 – 300 = 2500/2000). From the ground arose Sky Galloping Gaia and his materials, flowing into Eatos as she grew in power. (8/2500 + 2600 + 2000 + 2300 = 9400/2000). Then, with nothing more to be said, it launched at Yugi's Nobble Arms of Celtic Guard, with a force that reckoned to obliterate both Yugi's monster and his life points.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Kagemaru stared at the cards in his hand. Uria, Lord of Searing Flames. Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder. Raviel, Lord of Phantasms. Ever since they had been discovered, he had desired them, but any move he made was somehow stopped. No matter how close he came, he was always foiled. But now the cards were here. And according to the man who called himself Marik, they were now Kagemaru's to use. "But why won't you use the immense power with these cards?"

Marik gave off a roar of laughter. "You think those cards to be Gods? I shall show you a real god." Pulling the card off the top of his deck, he showed it to Kagemaru, who's eyes widened in shock.

"The Winged Dragon of Ra?" He stuttered, feeling fear rock through him. As proud as he was of the Sacred Beasts, they paled in comparison to that of the Egyptian God Cards. Soon, the questions started to flow from this mouth. "But how? I thought the God Cards were lost long ago. Where are Obelisk and Slifer?"

Marik's first response was a derisive snort. "The Gods were originally lost after the Pharaoh left this world. But, through ways that need not be explained, especially to you, my companions and I have acquired them. As for Obelisk and Slifer, they are with my allies. I have no need for any other God cards with Ra on my side, as well as the power of the Orichalcos!"

At that, Kagemaru was lost. "Orichalcos, what in the world is that?" He had heard of many different powers over his years searching for the Sacred Beasts. Be it the Egyptian Gods, the mythical Light of Destruction, or the tale of the Crimson Dragon. But in all his years, he had never heard the word Orichalcos before.

As expected, Marik laughed again, something that was beginning to irk Kagemaru. It got even more annoying when his answer was cryptic. "What if I told you your Sacred Beasts could become even stronger than they were before. That with just a little more power, you could wipe out all your enemies." He sneered at the old man, who by now was confined to a wheelchair. "And not just the Sacred Beasts, but you too. You would feel the immense strength."

The offer was tempting. The Sacred Beasts were rumoured to bring great power to the user, but as far as Kagemaru was concerned, no power was enough power. He nodded, a new-found determination inside him. "Yes. Give me this power."

Marik smirked. "But it is not that easy, old man. The Orichalcos does not permit just anyone to wield its power. You must be worthy of it. You must show the Orichalcos that you are deserving to use it."

Kagemaru spoke in a furious tone now. "I am worthy! No one is as worthy as me. After all the work I've done, I will finally receive this power! Just tell me how!

Marik dug into his pocket, and Kagemaru was confused at the little green stone that was presented to him. "Grab it."

Kagemaru raised his eyebrows. "Grab it? Very well." But as he reached forward, he felt something pushing him back, trying it's hardest to stop him from grabbing it. He looked to Marik. "What sorcery is this?!"

Marik laughed maniacally. "This is the power of the Orichalcos, old man! As I said, it does not surrender its power to just anyone. Overcome the strength, and grab the stone!"

But it was hard. As much as he pushed against it, it felt like it resisted twice as strong. He could see it all slipping away. Reclaiming the strength of his youth. Wielding the Sacred Beasts….

But the thoughts of those monsters set off something In Kagemaru. When he spoke, even Marik was surprised at the sudden energy given off by him. "I WILL NOT BE DENIED MY DESTINY."

And his hand closed around the stone.

A wave of darkness rocked through the entire island. So many students felt a chill go through their bodies, as if all their happy thoughts had been extinguished, leaving only despair. Only sorrow. Only hate.

As the light from the stone subsided, Marik smirked at the sight that greeted him. Kagemaru no longer needed his wheelchair. Instead, he looked as he would have at a young age, only even stronger. The Seal of Orichalcos was on his head, and his eyes glowed red as a malevolent smirk painted his features.

Marik grinned at the plan coming to fruition. "Excellent. Welcome to true power. Now, I have something else for you to do."

Grateful for what was currently flowing through him, Kagemaru nodded, the smirk still plain on his face. "Name it."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The attack continued to come for Yugi's monster. However, in all the chaos, Yugi was as calm as ever. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm gonna use my Burial from a Different Dimension! This card allows me to return up to three removed from play monsters to my Graveyard, but I only need to return one! I'll return my Electromagnetic Turtle, and by removing him I get to end the Battle Phase, no questions asked!" The attack suddenly stopped, the woman flowing back over to its owner's field. No moves left to make, the light flashed for Yugi to make his move. Drawing the card off the top of his deck, he smiled. "I'll play this card face down so that my Noble Arms of Celtic Guard can attack again! Destroy Elma! And the older fighter moved over, cutting Elma in half.

(Yugi: 700, Duel Bot: 3600)

Yugi grinned as he snapped the next two cards off his deck. "And that triggers his other effect. When he deals battle damage to you, I get to draw a card for every Celtic Guard monster on the field, so that's two!" Looking at his hand, his eyes widened and he let out a cheer. "YES! I move onto my Main Phase 2 and tribute my Obnoxious Celtic Guard in order to summon Dark Magician Girl (6/2000/1700)!"

Appearing in place of the younger swordsman was a spellcaster the whole word of duelling knew. She was one of the most famous cards in the game. Twirling the staff at her hand, she smiled to Yugi, who returned it. "It's at this moment I reveal my face-down Dark Burning Attack. Since I control a Dark Magician Girl, all your face-up monsters are destroyed!"

The young spellcaster raised her staff, a noticeable dark ball of energy building up inside it. Then she slammed it down on the ground, emitting a wave that obliterated the Guardians. By the time everything was back to normal, the robot's side was bare. At least it was until a crack appeared in the ground.

"When Guardian Eatos is destroyed, Guardian Dreadscythe (8/2500/2000) is Special Summoned from the hand." From the crack in the ground, rose a monster that sent shivers down the spines of everyone present. It looked sinister, its messy hair covering its chalk white face. It raised its hand into the sky, as if calling for something. "Dreadscythe's effect activates. Upon summoning, it is equipped with Reaper Scythe – Dreadscythe. For every monster in the graveyards, Dreadscythe gains 500 attack points."

Yugi's eyes widened as the fiend took its weapon, and its power skyrocketed (8/2500 + 7500 = 10000/2000). Looking at the sole card in his hand, he nodded. "I end my turn."

Joey was still staring in shock at the monster currently towering over everything else. "10000 attack points? That's insane!" He looked over to Kaiba, who was watching it closely. The CEO spoke calmly. "Rafael used this card during his second duel with Atem. Both you and Yugi had lost your souls at this point. It wasn't exactly easy to beat." He watched the duel closely. Atem had beaten this card without Yugi. It would be interesting to see how Yugi himself would fare without Atem.

The bot drew its card, and immediately Dreadscythe moved forward. It cut down the Dark Magician Girl with ease, and it continued past the Noble Arms of Celtic Guard. It would have hit Yugi, but it was blocked by a sudden furball. Or rather, a wall of furballs.

Yugi smiled, sliding the last card in his hand into the graveyard. "When I'm about to take damage due to a battle, I can discard my Kuriboh (1/300/200) in order to make that damage become 0! So, you came close, but I'm still in this." With not much else left to do, the robot slid Card of Sanctity onto the field, allowing both players to replenish their hand. Yugi smirked inwardly. _'And there's the flaw in the robot. It duels with statistics, and sees Card of Sanctity as the logical choice. But Rafael wouldn't have done that. He would have left my next draw up to face.'_ "Let it be known that since I drew it outside of my Draw Phase, I get to Special Summon Watapon (1/200/300)!" Appearing next to his swordsman was a small pink ball of fluff. He continued to watch from the other side of the field as two more cards were played by the machine using Rafael's deck.

Joey frowned. "Morale Boost and Mist Body. So, with Morale Boost, the bot gains 1000 life points every time an Equip Spell is played, and would you look at what Mist Body is…"

(Yugi: 700, Duel Bot: 4600)

Kaiba continued where Joey left off. "And Mist Body stops the monster from being destroyed in battle. Its preparing for one of Yugi's combos like Brave Attack." He chuckled to himself. _'But that's the thing with Yugi Moto. You can't predict his moves. He'll always surprise you.'_

Seeing that it was his turn again, Yugi drew, bringing his hand size back to six. Smiling at his hand, he looked to the other field. "It ends here. And I'll start by scarifying my two monsters in order to bring out the Dark Magician (7/2500/2000)!" Appearing in the place of his two monsters was his signature sage. And it was clear, with a hand of five, that he was far from done. "And I'll immediately say goodbye to him in order to use my Dedication Through Light and Darkness!" Already knowing the drill, the mage vanished, replaced by an older one, both body and clothes shades of blue. "And my Dark Magician of Chaos (8/2800/2600) allows me to take a spell back from my Graveyard, and I'll immediately use it, my Monster Reborn. Dark Magician, Return to me!" Again, as if it had never vanished, Yugi's monster was back.

However, due to the new monsters in his grave, there was more power than ever to Dreadscythe (8/10000 + 2000 = 12000/2000). But it seemed to do no harm to Yugi, who continued as if he wasn't facing down a monster with over 10 grand in attack points. "Next up, I use my Dian Keto, the Cure Master! With this, I gain 1000 life points…."

(Yugi: 1700, Duel Bot: 4600)

"Which will immediately be used to play my Dark Magic Veil, which brings back my Dark Magician Girl!"

(Yugi: 700, Duel Bot: 4600)

Yugi's three spellcasters stood proud. They had nothing to fear in Dreadscythe, for they knew how strong their master was, and that he wouldn't just use them as sacrifices. He slid the last card into his disk. "I activate my Dark Burning Magic. Since I have both Dark Magician, and Dark Magician Girl, your entire field is destroyed!"

Combining their sceptres, the apprentice and her master chanted in unison as they launched forth a powerful blast, leaving the robot's side bare. However, a card disappeared from its hand. "Dreadscythe's effect activates. Upon being destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, a card can be discarded to Special Summon it." Appearing again, the fiend let out a roar, though it was noticeably weaker. And it was clear why….it lacked its weapon (8/2500/2000). All Yugi could due upon seeing that was laugh.

"Hate to break it to you, but that effect comes with two huge flaws. For one, it doesn't get its weapon back. And for two, my Dark Magician of Chaos removes from play any monster it destroys, meaning the effect can't be used. Dark Magician of Chaos? You know what to do." And it very well did, for the oldest mage launched a blast and destroyed Dreadscythe, who showed no sign of returning.

(Yugi: 700, Duel Bot: 4300)

Yugi extended his hand. "Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl, finish it!" Together again, the spellcasters charged at the robot's size, causing smoke to rise as it ended the duel.

(Yugi: 700, Duel Bot: 0)

Yugi panted heavily as he deactivated his duel disk, the monsters disappearing from the field. He walked over to Kaiba and Joey, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I guess I cut that a bit close there, didn't I?"

Kaiba was about to answer before his phone rang. Excusing himself, he walked away from the other two to answer it, leaving Yugi and Joey to discuss the duel.

Joey grinned at Yugi. "Nice duelling, Yuge." Suddenly, the grin had dropped, and he looked nervous as he spoke next. "Did..did you get what you needed from that duel."

Joey was pleased to get a smile in response. "That duel with Rafael marked one of the hardest things Atem and I ever went through. Even though he's been gone this long, there's still parts that feel like unfinished business. But that's at least one chapter closed."

Joey grinned again, feeling the nervousness slip away. "Then we're ready. And these dudes won't know what hit them by the time we're through." He held his hand up to his best friend, which was quickly returned as the King of Games clasped the hand of the Red-Eyes user.

Their happiness was broken, however, as Kaiba returned to them, a look of anger on his face. Before either of them could voice their curiosity, the CEO spoke. "We've got to go. Right away, I'll call the helicopter."

As he walked away, Kaiba could hear Joey's voice asking the question. "Where are we headed? What's happened?" And so, he called back, and Yugi could have sworn he heard the faintest bit of worry in his voice. "We're headed to Duel Academy. It's been attacked."


End file.
